Campaign ads

Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) is up with his first ad of the election, a positive spot in which he touts his farming background and criticizes Washington, D.C.'s hyper-partisan climate.

"Being out here gives me perspective," Tester says in the ad as a picture of a farming combine harvester is shown. "The combine doesn't care if you're a senator; it breaks down when it wants to break down. In Montana we know what's important, like cutting government waste, protecting our freedoms, putting Main Street ahead of Wall Street. Sitting out here makes the partisanship back there seem pretty ridiculous. Montanans don't care which party gets the credit or the blame. That's why I'm focused on doing what's right for Montana — always."

One of Tester's best hopes at winning reelection in the Republican-leaning state is to find separation from his party and tout his local roots as a farmer, and the ad seeks to do both things. The ad is being shown statewide but has a low total behind it — $60,000 so far.

Tester and his opponent, Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.), haven't been on the air yet in the state. But outside groups have spent millions on the race already.

The Hill rates this race a toss-up.

Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign released an apocalyptic video of a fictional American town two years in the future.

Mitt Romney's campaign will go up on the air in Wisconsin, signaling it sees the state as the next likely battleground for the GOP nomination.

Crossroads GPS is hitting President Obama over rising gas prices and accusing him of "playing politics" with energy policies in a new ad that began airing Wednesday, as Obama embarks on a two-day energy tour.

One center-right group is stepping in to help Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) fend off a Tea Party challenge.

CNN anchor Erin Burnett is protesting the use of her image in a Web ad by the Republican National Committee, released over the weekend, that accuses President Obama of waging a "war on women" by accepting a donation from comedian Bill Maher.

Newt Gingrich released a new Web ad Tuesday hammering President Obama over rising gas prices. 

The Republican National Committee (RNC) is hitting President Obama on healthcare with a new TV ad airing in six battleground states, a week before the Supreme Court hears arguments on his signature reform law. 

The Republican National Committee paints a misogynistic picture in a video using the words of Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod.

The pro-Rick Santorum Red, White, and Blue Fund super-PAC made a $310,000 television ad buy in Illinois attacking Mitt Romney on healthcare and the economy. 

The ad comes just ahead of the Illinois primary, which is Tuesday. 

The ad charges that Romney left Massachusetts with “over $1 billion” in debt after his term as governor. The ad also claims that the Massachusetts healthcare reform bill Romney signed into law while governor was the “blueprint” for President Obama’s healthcare reform law.