• Boston Globe, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 11 AM

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney is stepping up an aggressive early ad push in his quest for the nomination--and it looks to be helping him move up in the field. Romney has forked over about $4 million for TV ads since February, mostly in early-voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire. And he bumped his spend up a lot last month with more than $2 million, largely on national cable advertisements.

The former Massachusetts governor has also added a raft of TV spots in South Carolina. Few, if any, of his rivals have even bought time yet. But Romney advisers say early airtime is key because so few people have even heard of him compared to folks like former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Senator John McCain. Ads focus on his conservative credentials, with stump speeches declaring his love for vetoes and military buildups. "What Romney's doing is extending his conversation with voters, his introduction period--and he's being allowed to do it essentially alone," says Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising.

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