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First Candidate on Television in Massachusetts Special Election | #MA05

State Sen. Katherine Clark, one of five Democrats in the Massachusetts 5th District special election, will air her first television ad on Tuesday, according to information obtained exclusively by CQ Roll Call.

The campaign plans to run ads through the Oct. 15 primary, according to a source with knowledge of the ad buy. The initial, approximately $60,000 buy will keep Clark’s spot on the airwaves Tuesday through Sept. 23 on six cable markets in the district: Cambridge, Lexington, Malden, Newton, Revere and Woburn.

Clark’s ad comes as the candidates are fighting for attention from voters, who are inundated with ads from a high-profile mayoral race in nearby Boston. She  is the first candidate to go on air in the five-person Democratic primary field. The five candidates are seeking to replace Edward J. Markey, the district’s longtime member of Congress who was elected to the Senate in June following a separate special election.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary will be the next member of Congress from this heavily Democratic district that voted for President Barack Obama with 65 percent in 2012. Massachusetts’ 5th District is rated a Safe Democratic contest by Rothenberg Political Report/Roll Call.

The four other Democratic candidates running in the special election primary include state Rep. Carl Sciortino, Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian, and state Sens. Karen Spilka and William Brownsberger.

Clark’s campaign created two ads and polled her supporters on which ad they would prefer to see on television. Both spots highlight Clark’s stance on women’s rights. The campaign did divulge which ad will run beginning Tuesday.

The first spot, “Test,” features Clark’s mother, Judy. She recalls a high school adviser directing her to seek another career because engineering was not suitable for a woman.

“Some things barely change, today the Republicans deny equal pay for equal work, deny birth control,” Clark says. “These extremists don’t believe women’s issues are family issues, but you and I know they are.”

The second ad, “Heartbroken,” tells the story of Clark’s grandmother, a World War II machinist.

“She’d be heartbroken about how Republicans treat women,” the ad says.

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