Martin to run TV ads for Senate race for 1 week

Democrat Jim Martin’s first television ads for the fall U.S. Senate campaign began running Monday on five Atlanta broadcast stations.

Martin ordered roughly 2 1/2 hours of broadcast airtime to run a total of 294 commercials through next Tuesday.

The cost is $224,445, a heavy buy for a week’s worth of political advertising.

But the sum pales in comparison to the $2.76 million Martin’s incumbent opponent, Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie, spent to run ads all the way to Election Day. Chambliss’ ads began airing in late August, according to records kept by the Atlanta broadcast stations.

Under federal law, records of political advertising purchases at television stations are public documents.

Martin campaign officials refused to comment on the airtime purchase. Nor would they comment on the content of their campaign ads.

For candidates running statewide campaigns, a multistation ad buy in the Atlanta media market accounts for 60 percent of statewide purchase.

On Monday, ads produced by Democrat Doug Heckman’s campaign for Congress began on cable television in metro Atlanta. Heckman, who’s challenging incumbent GOP congressman John Linder of Duluth, ordered time to run 1,344 commercials throughout September on Comcast.

Cable television ad rates are considerably cheaper than those charged by broadcast stations.

The cost of Heckman’s order was $26,234, according to records kept by Comcast.