Report: Obama campaign outpacing Romney's in ads

NEW YORK (AP) — A new report finds that President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign has run more than twice as many TV ads in nine key states as has the campaign of his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.

The Nielsen Co. said Friday that Obama’s campaign had run nearly 230,000 ads in Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Hampshire from the beginning of the year through early September, compared with about 87,000 for Romney. All are considered battlegrounds this year, with both candidates competing heavily in those states for votes.

The biggest disparity was in Ohio.

Obama’s campaign ran just over 51,000 ads in the state compared to nearly 17,500 for Romney. No Republican has ever won the White House without carrying Ohio, and recent polls show Obama ahead there.

Wisconsin, the home state of running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, is the only state where Romney has edged the president in ads.

Nielsen said Romney’s campaign had run 1,952 ads there compared to 1,391 for Obama.