Clark to Run TV Ads in Three States

Democratic presidential candidate Wesley K. Clark will begin airing television commercials this week in three states with Feb. 3 primaries, spreading the TV ad wars beyond Iowa and New Hampshire.

Clark’s campaign is spending about $200,000 in each state -- South Carolina and Oklahoma beginning Tuesday and Arizona later in the week -- to run for at least a week a 60-second biographical ad that highlights his military career.

It’s a hefty purchase that so far is unmatched by any of his Democratic rivals and gives the political newcomer an advantage in reaching voters. Clark is the only candidate on the air in Oklahoma, and no other candidate plans to run campaign commercials this week in Arizona.

In South Carolina, Clark shares the airwaves with Sen. John Edwards, who has run ads there since summer. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt will air his first ads in that state within the week.

No Democrat has been on the air in several Feb. 3 primary states at one time since early September, when front-runner Howard Dean ran commercials in four of the states and Edwards broadcast ads in two of them.

Clark’s move is consistent with his overall campaign strategy. The candidate decided to abandon Iowa, which holds its caucuses Jan. 19, and although he has focused on New Hampshire and its Jan. 27 primary, a win seems unlikely for the late entrant. The next tests come Feb. 3 in seven states.

Chris Lehane, a Clark advisor, said the retired Army general from Arkansas should do well in the three states because of their sizable number of veterans and locations in the South and Southwest.