MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Campaign 2000 heating up a bit, Al Gore and George W. Bush stumping hard on the campaign trail and the candidates have launched some ad wars in key battleground states. CNN's Bernard Shaw has that.</s>BERNARD SHAW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In week one of the general election air war, swing-state viewers are getting bombarded by an Al Gore biographical ad.</s>UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Al Gore has his doubts but enlists in the Army.</s>SHAW: And a pair of George Bush spots, one on the need to focus on tough choices, the other on educated.</s>GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now is the time to teach all our children to read and renew the promise of America's public schools.</s>SHAW: Each campaign is spending over $5 million this week alone, with the sprawling Midwest swing belt the prime target. Both campaigns are on the air in Missouri, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia and the belt's eastern anchor, Pennsylvania. Another major air battle is underway in the northwest in Washington and Oregon. Both campaigns are also up in Delaware, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico and Bush is running uncontested spots in Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire. But the two richest electoral prizes, New York and California, are off this week's battle map. Gore's selection of Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman may have taken the entire New York market out of play, at least temporarily. California is the nation's most expensive media market. Bush trails Gore there and has apparently decided he can get more bang for the buck elsewhere. Bernard Shaw, CNN, Washington.
Political Ad Wars Escalate in Swing States