Val Arkoosh first TV ad stars her daughter

‘Tis the season of the child.

Physician Valerie Arkoosh debuts the first TV ad (above) of her congressional campaign today, starring her 12-year-old daughter, Olivia.

The 30-second spot cuts between Olivia coaching her mom on how to deliver her pitch (“more energy!”) and mom pitching her doctor-problem-solving approach and experience on health care reform.

Arkoosh is running in the Democratic primary in the 13th Congressional District, the seat split between Montgomery County and Northeast Philadelphia now held by Allyson Schwartz, who’s running for governor. Another candidate, State Sen. Daylin Leach, has made effective use of his daughter, Brennan, in his videos, and Leach’s son, Justin, appears in a bio TV ad.

UPDATE: The fourth candidate in the race, former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies has released a new ad which features former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell praising Margolies for the controversial budget vote she cast in 1993 which led to her defeat after one term in congress. The ad isn’t on TV yet. Margolies senior advisor Ken Smukler said the campaign expects to compete a media buy by the end of this week.

Arkoosh and her husband, Jeff Harbison, are investing some personal funds in what the campaign calls a “significant” ad buy. The campaign says the amount of the personal contributions will be revealed in campaign finance reports filed after May 20. The Arkoosh campaign had previously placed a $400,000 ad buy for the final week of the campaign. The Arkoosh campaign reported $687,000 on hand as of March 31.

According to campaign finance reports, Leach has contributed $38,700 to his campaign, and State. Rep. Brendan Boyle has given $60,340 to his effort.

In the increasingly contentious primary battle, Arkoosh has sent mailings attacking Boyle on the issue of abortion rights, and Margolies on social security reform.