Moran attacks McAuliffe in first TV ad

Democrat Brian J. Moran keeps saying he's a fighter, and Richmond-area voters will start seeing that today in his opening television ad -- an attack on the perceived front-runner for the party's gubernatorial nomination, former Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe.

McAuliffe, running on the economy, is firing back with a spot in which he declares "false attacks won't create jobs."

The commercial for Moran, a former member of the House of Delegates from Alexandria, questions McAuliffe's business dealings:

"The press on Terry McAuliffe's insider deals: McAuliffe has made a fortune investing, sometimes in companies that went bust, laid off thousands and drained employee savings. Barack Obama ran against exactly the kind of big-money politics that McAuliffe represents."

The ad continues:

"Brian Moran worked with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, fighting for Virginia's families and seniors. The choice? McAuliffe working insider deals for himself. Or Brian Moran's hard work for us."

The ad was set to air last night briefly in Northern Virginia -- before a rebroadcast of the final Democratic debate. The spot begins running today in Richmond and Hampton Roads.

McAuliffe's commercial, also carried in Richmond and Hampton Roads, focuses on his role in reviving a once-troubled Washington-area bank, Federal National City. McAuliffe was chairman.

Federal National City's president, Clyde Smith, appears in the spot, saying, "The attacks on Terry McAuliffe are just wrong."

The third candidate for the nomination, state Sen. R. Creigh Deeds of Bath County, is running two commercials downstate.

The nomination will be decided in a June 9 primary.

-- Olympia Meola and Jeff E. Schapiro