New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan, who is running for senate against incumbent Kelly Ayotte, is expected to be one beneficiary of DSCC ad buys in the Granite State. | AP Photo Senate Dems prep for huge ad war in swing states

The campaign arm for the Senate Democrats is locking up $37 million in TV reservations for the fall air war in five key battle ground states, the first major shot in what's shaping up to be a brutal battle for control of the Senate.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is booking the air time now in the key presidential battleground states of Florida, Colorado, Nevada, New Hampshire and Ohio, according to a person familiar with the reservations. The ad buys only represent the floor of Democrats' financial commitment to taking back the Senate, with expanded reservations in those states possible in the coming weeks, the person said.


The DSCC is committing $10 million each in Florida and Ohio, two pricey and massive states each with multiple media markets that are key to Democrats' hopes of netting the five seats needed to win back the majority. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida is leaving the Senate this fall, creating a crowded scramble in both parties to succeed him. While national Democrats favor Rep. Patrick Murphy over liberal bomb thrower Rep. Alan Grayson in the Florida primary, the money is committed to the general election and not the primary.

Democrats are also spending $8 million in New Hampshire, where there's an increasingly brutal battle between Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan and GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte. Outside groups have spent millions there on each candidate, with Planned Parenthood becoming the latest entrant on Tuesday with a $400,000 ad buy aimed at Ayotte. The DSCC also plans to spend $5 million in Colorado to defend their lone vulnerable incumbent, Sen. Michael Bennet, and $4 million in Nevada, where they hope to hold a seat being vacated by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid against Rep. Joe Heck, the favored Republican there.

The ad buys were first reported by CNN.

Senate Republicans' campaign arm has yet to place such reservations, though Republicans expect action soon given that such commitments only get more expensive in presidential battlegrounds as the general election draws near. Andrea Bozek, a spokeswoman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chided Democrats for not putting money into other targeted races and called the massive buy "an admission by the DSCC that they are facing an uphill climb to the majority.”

"For all the Democrats’ bluster about their chances in November, they just committed $40 million to only a handful of seats, hanging a number of their candidates out to dry in states like Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Iowa. This buy is a testament to the strength of our Republican Senators," Bozek said.