Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gary King returned to the airwaves last week, while a political action committee made a documentary case against GOP Gov. Susana Martinez.
Political advertising in New Mexico topped $9 million in contracts through Oct. 10. Aired back-to-back, those ads would take up nearly 8.5 days of viewing, a New Mexico In Depth analysis shows. The analysis is based on contracts filed by TV stations with the . It doesn鈥檛 include cable or satellite TV buys or radio advertising.
King returned to TV Friday for the first time since mid-August, scheduling 176 ads worth $120,765 through Oct. 23.
But Martinez continues to hold an overwhelming lead in ad spending at nearly $2.6 million worth.
Meanwhile, King got help from Chile PAC, a federally registered political action committee that aired on KOAT on Sunday afternoon that criticizes the governor for for the state鈥檚 Medicaid recipients. The group spent $7,650 to air the show, along with 15 15-second promotional spots.
Here鈥檚 a look at political ad buys by advertiser through Oct. 10:
More new ads
Other political ad developments last week:
路 Tim Keller, Democratic candidate for state auditor, scheduled nearly $122,000 in ads. Republican Robert Aragon has yet to schedule ads for the open seat.
路 GOP Secretary of State Dianna Duran increased her ad buys to nearly $156,000, compared with $129,000 for her Democratic opponent, Maggie Toulouse Oliver.
路 The New Mexico Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission scheduled almost $63,000 in ads about judicial candidates.
Here鈥檚 a look at the partisan breakdown of ad spending:
The Colorado connection
This tally only includes ads aimed at New Mexico voters. But in recent days, some TV viewers are seeing ads aimed at Colorado voters 鈥� specifically those in southwestern Colorado.
Priorities for Colorado, a Democratic 527 and independent expenditure committee, is spending $152,600 on 304 TV ads on Albuquerque stations to influence the outcome of a competitive state House race in Durango. That鈥檚 more than several candidates for statewide races in New Mexico are spending on TV advertising.
Two other Colorado Democrats 鈥� U.S. Sen. Mark Udall and Gov. John Hickenlooper 鈥� have spent almost $114,000 on ads at Albuquerque-owned stations in Farmington and Durango, Colo. But they haven't made statewide buys in New Mexico.
Correction: We incorrectly stated that the Republican Governors Association had spent $137,000 on ads supporting Martinez in this story. NMID regrets the error.
Fish, NMID鈥檚 data journalist, can be reached at fish@nmindepth.com or on Twitter .
