If you watch TV, this news in the New York Times will come as no surprise:

An explosion of spending on political advertising on television — set to break $2 billion in congressional races, with overall spots up nearly 70 percent since the 2010 midterm election — is accelerating the rise of moneyed interests and wresting control from the candidates’ own efforts to reach voters.

The spending is particularly large in states with big U.S. Senate races, such as Arkansas.

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The Times says that through mid-July, well ahead of the high point of the season, more than 150,000 spots from outside groups have been aired in Senate races. That’s more than were aired during the entire 2010 Senate elections.

Seems like they’ve all been aired in Arkansas.

The Citizens United Supreme Court ruling gets the blame. Republican-oriented groups are leading the spending ($124 million from the leading Republican and Koch groups), but Democrats have ratcheted up their spending to compete.

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