Political ads ramp up in Philadelphia, suburbs

MEDIA, Pa. (WPVI) -- With Pennsylvania expected to be so crucial on Election Day, candidates for president and senate are pouring millions into TV ads.

Since Memorial Day, both presidential candidates have constantly made major stops in Pennsylvania, especially in voter rich Southeastern Pa. where one-third of the state's votes will be cast in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.

That is where the bulk of the TV-ad money is being spent.

Some locals have had enough already.

"Finding everything to nitpick and bring down the idea of actually voting for somebody. Why get involved with it at all? It's horrible," Ted Kostan of Upper Darby, Pa. said.

Since the spring, the TV ad buys in Southeastern Pa. have been large: $3.5-million from the Clinton campaign and $1.3-million from the Trump campaign.

Statewide, the Clinton campaign has spent many millions on TV spots, three times more as the Trump forces.

"The Trump campaign is just not spending as much money on advertising as previous presidential campaigns and they're not being supported by the Republican Party or outside groups," Temple University professor Michael Hagen said.

The McGinty-Toomey race is the most closely watched senate race in the nation.

The numbers: $5.1-million in TV ads for McGinty so far, $4.5-million for GOP incumbent Pat Toomey statewide.

"It's coming from the campaigns themselves, it's coming from the parties, it's coming from pacts, it's coming from individuals," said Randall Miller, a professor of American politics at Saint Joseph's University.

There has been a dramatic increase in ads being delivered over social media.

"You get so oversaturated, you start to either tune them out or you pay attention to what strikes your curiosity and ignore the rest," Melissa Brown of Media, Pa. said.

"I think it's a waste of money because it's not focusing on what we need to know to vote," Jennifer Caton of Media, Pa. said.

Both parties desperately need Pennsylvania in the struggle for control of the U.S. Senate.

Both races are tight, so millions more dollars will be pouring into the commonwealth in the days left until the election.