The Roanoke Times looks at political ad spending in the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, where political advertisers have allocated or spent $6.5 million on the four local stations there:

For proper context, consider this: In 2008, which was a record year for campaign spending in this market according to information provided by the stations, political advertising totaled nearly $5.6 million.

Welcome to the swing-state spending spree. “Virginia is white-hot,” said Leesa Wilcher, general manager of WSLS.

And few places have sizzled like the Roanoke-Lynchburg market, which has been ranked in MSNBC’s top 10 “hottest advertising markets” for three months.  Currently, Roanoke-Lynchburg is No. 1, based on the number of political ads on TV. That’s a lofty perch for the 66th-largest market in the United States, according to The Nielsen Co.