David Catanese of the U.S. News & World report writes that U.S. Senate candidate Terri Lynn Land has had a ubiquitous presence on television with her political commercials, but otherwise, she's avoiding the media and debates.
He writes:
In Michigan, Republican Terri Lynn Land is attempting an audacious political experiment: Whether she can snag a U.S. Senate seat while hardly campaigning.
Land, a former two-term Michigan Secretary of State, is no doubt a ubiquitous presence on television screens. The more than $8.6 million she’s pooled together so far this cycle has allowed her to air a series of splashy advertisements and maintain an air of competitiveness against Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich., for the open seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat.
But on the trail, she’s taking a minimum exposure approach that’s making her close to invisible. State-based reporters complain about an unprecedented lack of access to the candidate and a dearth of information about her whereabouts on any given day. Advertised public events and interviews are few and far to come by. And Land continues to decline to debate her opponent, stiff-arming organizers with the silent treatment.
The story quotes Jill Alper, a Democratic consultant, as saying:
“It is kind of like the Wizard of Oz. Who’s the woman behind the curtain? She could almost be from another state. “It’s like Casper, the ghost for Senate.”
