According to publicly viewable data, the McCain/RNC campaign spent $401,601 for paid TV ads on the three Grand Rapids stations in the month of September and the Obama/DNC campaign spent $580,700 in the same month. The combined totals from the two campaigns for the month of September is just under $1 million dollars spent in trying to influence voters through ads.

We have already pointed out some of the misleading ads that both campaigns have been airing in West Michigan but this is the first time we have looked at ads from 527 Political Action Committees supporting either McCain or Obama. The Service Employees International Union spent $168,960 for paid ads in support of Senator Obama on the three Grand Rapids-based TV stations in the month of September. Their ads focused exclusively on the economy and jobs, with a recent ad that said Barack Obama will have a better tax break plan for the middle class.

The only 527 Political Action Committee ads that supported McCain during the month of September that aired on West Michigan TV stations was from the group Vets for Freedom. Vets for Freedom spent considerably less than SEIU during the month, with a total of $48,635 compared to more than three times that much from the union. The ads that Vets for Freedom ran in September make the claim that Senator Obama did not support "the surge" in Iraq. While Senator Obama may have spoken against "the surge" in the past, he has consistently voted for funding the war in Iraq. Senator Obama even admitted during the first presidential debate and on the Bill O'Reily show that "the surge" in Iraq did indeed work.