Influence Alley

To get a sense for the state of the race between Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican Rep. Todd Akin in Missouri, take a close look at the campaigns' ad spending.

Even though some polls have McCaskill leading by single digits, ad spending provides another telling metric. 

Dan Friedman reports for Hotline On Call:

"Akin's recent buys for television ads show why campaign watchers and strategists from across the political spectrum, including National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, have called the contest unwinnable for the congressman.

According to a Democratic source tracking Akin's buys, his campaign is spending just $56,000 on a purchase of TV time between October 9 and 14 in the Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield and Columbia markets. The source said Akin's prior buys, for airtime in the same markets between Sep. 29 and Oct. 5, were worth about $78,000.

Akin is running spots including an ad stating that McCaskill's husband's businesses received funds from the 2009 economic stimulus bill. The McCaskill campaign says the ad overstates the amount the firms received and fails to note the money the firm received came from contracts that predate the stimulus.

Regardless, Akin's buys pale next to McCaskill's spending. Although her campaign will not discuss ad buys, outside campaign consultants estimate her campaign is spending more than $400,000 a week on statewide ads, including a new contrast spot hitting Akin for opposing emergency contraception for rape victims"