Jon Husted

COLUMBUS, Ohio --Ohio is becoming a bigger political battleground than expected.

Political ad-tracking firm AdImpact now projects $750 million will be spent on advertising this cycle--a $309 million increase over its initial forecast.

That’s the largest increase for any state and moves Ohio to the fourth-most expensive market in the country. AdImpact updates its projections throughout the cycle using factors such as fundraising, past advertising, media costs and independent ratings of how competitive each race is.

Ohio’s jump reflects increasingly competitive races for U.S. Senate and governor. And that growing attention can be seen in the latest ad buys.

Republican-aligned nonprofit One Nation launched a $28 million ad campaign in Ohio portraying Sen. Jon Husted as a champion for veterans.

The ad highlights his work to expand health care access in rural communities, raise military pay and protect service members’ paychecks during government shutdowns.

At the same time, Democrat Sherrod Brown released a television ad on Tuesday calling Husted the “face of data centers in Ohio.”

The ad accuses Husted of cutting tax breaks for the industry while linking data centers to rising electricity bills and asks, “Who’s he really working for?”

The ads are part of a spending surge that’s expected to intensify as Election Day draws closer.

Nearly $155 million has already been spent on the Ohio Senate race, according to AdImpact. Republican groups have accounted for about $87 million of that spending, compared with $68 million from Democratic groups.

Much of the money has come from outside organizations rather than the candidates themselves.

The Senate Leadership Fund has spent nearly $56 million to boost Husted, while WinSenate has spent almost $39 million backing Brown.

Brown’s campaign has outspent Husted’s on advertising, though Husted has received additional support through a joint fundraising committee.