Presidential Ads Starting To Air On Oklahoma Airwaves

In just a couple of weeks, Oklahomans will get the chance to cast their votes in the Presidential Primary.

Right now, several campaigns are spending dollars here, as the first TV ads ahead of Super Tuesday are starting to hit the airwaves.

After New Hampshire, Democrat Bernie Sanders is one of the first to make a campaign ad buy ahead of the March 1st primary.

Pollsters like Bill Shapard say Sander's big win in New Hampshire has his team running political commercials in upcoming primary states, like Oklahoma.

"He was at 12 points when we first polled it, he's now at 28. Between him and Hillary Clinton, he's the only one that’s gaining right now," Shapard said.

The primary is another reason why five Republican presidential hopefuls have made stops in Oklahoma.

Oklahoma is seeing a lot of campaign stops - Donald Trump and Ted Cruz visited twice, Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio made swings through OKC, and Democrat Hillary Clinton stumped at the Jazz Hall of Fame.

"I would draw a distinction that some think of us just as an opportunity to raise money, others look at it as an opportunity to try to gain votes," Shapard said.

TU Political Science Professor Matthew Hindman said Oklahoma could play a big role in 2016.

He said, "Super Tuesday is really when the delegate count really gets jacked up."

"If this was a winner-take-all, I doubt very seriously you'll see very much interest from those lower candidates. But because we're not winner-take-all, and they see an opportunity to pick up some delegates, Oklahoma is a good state to do that," Shapard said.

Trump is scheduled to run TV ads in OKC, and Jeb Bush's PAC may make a buy.