According to The AP, Barack Obama’s campaign has spent more than $2 million so far on general election television ads in North Carolina, a sign that the presumptive Democratic nominee is serious about breaking a 32-year electoral vote drought. A Democrat hasn’t won North Carolina’s electoral votes since 1976. Save for nationally aired ads during the summer Olympics, Republican John McCain’s campaign has not yet run ads in North Carolina television markets.
"It’s not that big a stretch for Barack Obama to win North Carolina this year," state campaign director Marc Farinella told reporters in a conference call featuring Gov. Mike Easley. "This is a battleground state and we’re going to win it."
Obama’s campaign has identified North Carolina as one of 18 battleground states where it’s spending money on TV advertising early in the general election campaign. North Carolina ranked in the middle of the pack in Obama TV spending during June and July, led by Florida with $5 million, according to The AP story.
