Behind the Ad: What ads look like in safe blue congressional districts

By Richard K. Barry

Who: The Don Beyer (D) campaign

Where: Virginia's 8th Congressional District

What's going on: Rep. James P. Moran (D) is retiring. There are 10 Democrats running in the June 10th primary for the right to crush whomever the Republicans put up. Former Lt. Gov. Don Beyer is one of them. This 30-second ad crows about Beyer's commitment to women's issues like equal pay and abortion rights.

According to Roll Call, Beyer is the only candidate with enough money to make a significant ad buy this early, especially considering how expensive airtime is in the D.C. area. He is also referred to in the piece as the front-runner, so it he must be true, though I haven't seen any polling. 

Also running for the Democrat nomination are state Sen. Adam Ebbin, state Dels. Patrick Hope and Charniele Herring, and radio show host Mark Levine, among others.

President Obama won here in 2012 by 37 points, so this seat is all about the Democratac primary. 

A fun fact about the Virginia 8th is that it boasts the shortest commute to Capitol Hill in the country.

Grade: Considering that this is a safe blue seat, the point is to make Democrats comfortable with the candidates progressive values. No harm done, but could it be a more boring ad? C-