Goldberg ad raises stakes as foes reply

Deborah Goldberg, spending at a furious pace in the final days of the three-way Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, went on the air yesterday with the fourth television ad of her campaign, as other candidates went on the attack.

Goldberg, an heir to the Stop & Shop fortune, has contributed $2.1 million of her own money to the campaign's $2.7 million in funding, a sum that dwarfs the war chests of her Democratic rivals, Timothy P. Murray and Andrea Silbert. A new poll, by State House News Service, found that Goldberg was gaining ground in the race.

Murray, who is updating ads to tout recent endorsements, went on the offensive yesterday and accused Goldberg of trying to buy the race.

``I don't think campaigns are just about spending millions of dollars on network TV," said Murray, the mayor of Worcester. ``We're trying to show that somebody without a trust fund and large personal wealth can win statewide office."

Silbert, who recently loaned her campaign $25,000 to help pay for a $533,000 ad purchase, held a fund-raising event last night asking supporters to give the $500 limit.

The heavy spending recalls the 2002 lieutenant governor's race when wealthy businessman Christopher Gabrieli made large ad purchases using his own money shortly before the primary. That was the most expensive lieutenant governor's race in state history, when eight candidates spent $8.8 million. Gabrieli, who is now running for governor, won the 2002 primary but lost in the general election, when he shared the Democratic ticket with gubernatorial candidate Shannon O'Brien.

Murray won the endorsement of the party's convention and had led in polls, but a poll released yesterday by State House News showed Goldberg with a slight edge for the first time.

Of 201 Massachusetts residents who said they planned to vote in the primary, 21 percent said they would vote for Goldberg; 19 percent for Murray; and 12 percent for Silbert. About half of voters were still undecided in the poll, which was conducted over the weekend and has a margin of error of 6.8 percentage points.

``Deb Goldberg has put a lot of money into TV ads, which does raise name recognition," said Dorie Clark, spokeswoman for Silbert. ``But we are pleased with the results, because it is still a very competitive race."

Goldberg's new 30-second spot, which is called ``Back on Track," has six voters talking over upbeat music about why they plan to vote for Goldberg. It features a man wearing a hard hat who is identified as a contractor, someone in a lab coat identified as a physician, and a man in a shirt and tie labeled as a selectman. Nearly all are city and school officials from Goldberg's hometown of Brookline, said Jim Conley, who has been casting doubt on statements in Goldberg's ads, using his blog, onbrookline.com.

Murray and Silbert each have two ads running.

Murray updated one of his ads this week to include a mention of the endorsement he received Monday from the Globe.

By Aug. 31, Goldberg had spent $1.2 million on television ads. Murray had spent $350,000, and Silbert had spent $55,000.

Goldberg is the only lieutenant governor candidate not to join the public financing system, which provides candidates with up to $312,500 in taxpayer money.

So far, Goldberg has spent $2 million on the race, according to a Globe analysis of finance forms filed last week, the last to be turned in before the Sept. 19 primary.

Murray had raised $1 million by Aug. 31, according to the campaign finance disclosures. None of that is his own money. He had spent $918,400, or 92 percent of the money he raised.

Silbert had raised $965,700. Of that, $31,000 was her own money, according to the campaign finance disclosures. She had spent $443,400, or 46 percent of her money, by Aug. 31.

Reed Hillman, the Republican candidate who is running unopposed and has paired with gubernatorial candidate Kerry Healey, has raised $541,817 and has spent $231,354.

An independent candidate, John J. Sullivan, has raised $51,175 and has spent $42,587.

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.