Pro-Obama super-PAC reserving $30M in airtime

The super-PAC supporting President Obama's reelection campaign has begun reserving some $30 million in autumn ad time across several swing states as Democrats look to battle back against a likely onslaught of commercials from outside conservative groups.

Priorities USA Action is reserving time in Colorado, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and, for the first time, Iowa, according to a source familiar with the strategy. The ad time will come on both broadcast and cable networks.

The commercials will air in September and October, although the organization plans to limit expenditures in Pennsylvania to just the month preceding the election. A Quinnipiac poll released Wednesday showed Obama favored to win Pennsylvania's 20 electoral votes with an 11-point lead. The state has voted with the Democratic presidential candidate over the past two decades.

Priorities USA also plans to continue a Spanish-language campaign in Colorado, Florida and Nevada in conjunction with the Service Employees International Union. The groups plan to spend at least $4 million on that campaign.

Priorities announced last month that it raised $6 million in June, the largest ever single-month haul for the group. Donors included actor Morgan Freeman, who gave $1 million.

But that total was dwarfed by Restore our Future, the pro-Romney super-PAC that quadrupled its haul between May and June and raised a record $20 million. Half that total came from a $10 million single-check donation from casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who has spent heavily to support Republicans this election cycle.

Other Republican groups — including Karl Rove's American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS — also look to be prominent players, having already spent tens of millions on advertising.

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