Hamilton County Mayor Democratic candidate Richard "Rick" Wilson is running television ads in the lead up to the Aug. 2 election.
Though his first ad buy was only about $4,000 on two local television stations, Wilson said he plans to be competitive with Republican candidate Jim Coppinger, who spent $104,000 earlier this month to run ads on four local network affilliates and cable.
"I will be making additional purchases and I will be competitive with my opponents," Wilson said.
Wilson, who loaned his campaign $50,000 earlier this year, is largely self-funding his bid.
The Johnson Group produced Coppinger's ads, and Wilson, a UTC professor, said a former student assisted with his.