McDonnell readies reply after ad attack

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Republican Bob McDonnell plans to hit back with his first round of television advertisements.

McDonnell has bought about $200,000 in air time in downstate television markets after a Democratic group aired ads statewide attacking him on GOP opposition to enhanced unemployment benefits.

The presumed Republican nominee for governor will spend about $53,000 to air the ad in the Norfolk market, $47,000 in Richmond, $38,000 in Roanoke, $30,000 in Bristol and $25,000 in the combined Charlottesville-Harrisonburg region. They will air for a week, starting Monday.

Campaign spokesman Tucker Martin wouldn't discuss the content of the ad.

It's about half as much as Common Sense Virginia, funded by the Democratic Governors Association, is spending. Unlike McDonnell, the Democrats bought time in the pricey Washington, D.C., market.