POLITICO's Dave Levinthal reports:

A new volley of South Carolina television advertising costs a pro-Ron Paul super PAC more than $317,500, new independent expenditure filings with the Federal Election Commission indicate.

The Santa Rita SuperPAC, which didn’t exist until Jan. 4, purchased ad time on 13 broadcast stations and cable, the filings indicate. The buy guarantees that Paul, a Texas congressman, will stay up on the airwaves for the duration of the South Carolina presidential primary campaign.

Of the money spent, $117,518 is funding cable ads, while the largest single broadcast ad buy is worth $36,635 on WYFF-TV in the Greenville-Spartanburg metro area. The ads are scheduled to run through Jan. 21, FEC records show.

Dallas property developer Donald Huffines is running the Santa Rita SuperPAC, which along with Utah-based super PAC Endorsing Liberty, has now spent into the six-figure range in support of Paul. Santa Rita SuperPAC’s ads alternatively promote Paul and pan Paul’s opponents, notably Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich.

Paul finished third in this month’s Iowa caucuses and second in the New Hampshire primary. A new Augusta Chronicle / Savannah Morning News poll shows Paul running fourth in South Carolina behind Romney, Gingrich and Rick Santorum.