Kyrillos ad campaign introduces U.S. Senate candidate to N.J. voters

The Republican seeking to unseat incumbent Democrat Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate race in New Jersey is launching his first TV ad campaign.

The 30-second cable television commercial introduces Joe Kyrillos to voters. The ad doesn’t detail specific policies; the campaign says that will come later.

Monmouth University political analyst Patrick Murray says the ad campaign is important for Kyrillos because a majority of voters aren’t familiar with him.

“The hope is that, subconsciously, the name Kyrillos just registers with voters so as the campaign gets in full swing in September that he can get over that hump,” Murray said.

Murray says the plan to air the commercial over the next two weeks should help Kyrillos because people are tuned into politics while the Republican and Democratic conventions are taking place.

“There isn’t a lot of political advertising happening right now so he’ll be able to cut through a little bit of the noise with his ad because he won’t be competing against too many other ads,” Murray said.