On Monday, gubernatorial candidates Tom Corbett and Tom Wolf battled in the first of three debates. Currently, the Republican incumbent heavily trails the Democrat Wolf in the polls. Unsurprisingly, Corbett also trails Wolf in campaign ad spending. But Wolf is not the only candidate spending the big bucks this fall.

According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Pennsylvania candidates have spent more money on ads this year overall than any other state in the country. A survey released Wednesday by the Center for Public Integrity shows that campaigns have spent about $37.8 million on commercials. These expenditures have led to more than 56,000 ads, with each ad counted every time it airs.

Wolf has spent more than $11 million on nearly 17,000 ads, while Corbett has put forth $9.5 million on about 16,000 ads. The point: candidates, parties, companies and private donors have spent millions to air the perennially cheesy campaign commercials every viewer is excited to stop seeing.

Still, there’s a reason why all this money goes to such ads — they work, they’re effective and they make a difference. This spring, Democratic gubernatorial candidates Allyson Schwartz, Kathleen McGinty and Rob McCord learned this the hard way.

It is time that candidates are pressed beyond their cheesy smiles and artificial photoshoots. As college students, we represent a potentially sizable electorate block. But, according to campusvoteproject.org, only 22.8 percent of eligible voters under 30 actually voted in 2010. Many issues in the upcoming gubernatorial elections touch our lives and futures. Therefore, we must take the candidates and issues seriously and use our numbers to influence our futures.

The next governor will play a significant role in education funding policy, the legalization of medical marijuana, employment and job creation and energy policy.

Instead of listening to partisan talking points or taking ads for their word, voters should examine details and policy efficacy. Drop the ideology, and focus on good governance. 

For example, when Gov. Corbett took office in January 2011, the commonwealth’s unemployment rate was around 8 percent. Today, it sits at 5.6 percent, an impressive decline.

But why has the unemployment rate dropped? Did it do so simply as a reflection of national trends or directly because of the governor’s policies? Has tax-exempting shale companies benefited Pennsylvanians through job growth or taken away possible revenue for other government-funded programs?

Regardless of how you answer these questions, you should still answer them, and do so with evidence and support. Find actual data, look at budget reports, watch the debates and unbiasly assess the governor’s four years in office, asking if the commonwealth is better than it was four years ago.

So the next time you see Wolf meeting with students in front of a chalkboard or Corbett extemporaneously talking to citizens with a cameraman at the ready, use it as a reminder to look beyond the portrayal in front of you. Delve deeper into reality with an open mind and a focus on effective governance, not party politics. 

Tomorrow matters, and we have control over it. But it will take work and effort. On Monday night, Wolf repeatedly said, “We can do better.” 

He’s right, and we should start with how we choose our governor.