But the advertising disparity is even larger than those figures indicate. If the Republican Party pays for half the cost of a McCain ad, then half the content is required to be general in nature, promoting, say, the GOP or its members of Congress. So, even in those states where McCain has equivalent dollars, "we don't have equivalent time," said one Republican ad maker who did not want to be identified discussing the challenges facing the party's nominee.
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Obama surges in fundraising race
He had $77 million in the bank on Aug. 31, and is on pace to raise at least $100 million more by election day.
CAMPAIGN '08: OBAMA BACKED BY CASH AND CLINTONS
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Obama has also benefited more than McCain has from spending by supporters who are advertising on the candidates' behalf.
Since Labor Day, the traditional start of the fall campaign, independent groups have spent nearly $15.8 million to support Obama, or oppose McCain, more than double the $5.4 million spent on behalf of McCain, according to Federal Election Commission records.
The largest amount of pro-Obama spending has come from organized labor, led by the Service Employees International Union, which has spent $7.7 million since Labor Day. Other unions have pushed organized labor's pro-Obama expenditures to more than $10 million, all of it in battleground states including Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri.
Other than the Republican Party -- which has spent almost $10 million since Sept. 1 -- the biggest group promoting McCain has been the National Rifle Assn., which has spent $3.2 million to help elect the Arizona senator.
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mark.barabak@latimes.com
dan.morain@latimes.com
