Pro-Romney group makes $10 million ad buys

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A group that supports Republican candidate Mitt Romney launched a US$10 million (S$12 million) series of advertisements on Tuesday, mainly in battleground states, knocking President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.

American Crossroads, a non-profit group known as a superPAC, made an US$8.3 million buy for ads that feature small business owners blasting Obama's "bad decisions" on job creation. The series will run in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio and Virginia.

"With Barack Obama calling the shots in the White House, entrepreneurs feel threatened and admit they are uncertain of their ability to create jobs," said American Crossroads media relations director Nate Hodson.

"President Obama would rather make small business owners the enemy than take responsibility for mismanaging the economy over the last four years." Crossroads GPS, an affiliated group that is not required to reveal donors, launched a separate, US$2.3 million ad buy in four states, targeting Democratic lawmakers in Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and New York.