PHOENIX–

MEGAN THOMPSON/CRONKITE NEWS: Early voting in Arizona starts this week. And reporter Thuy Lan Nguyen is here to talk about why you’re seeing a surge in political ads.

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: Candidates are hoping to sway those still-undecided voters with the help of thousands of television ads. In fact, in the past week, spending on those ads has increased by $2 million.

Chances are you’ve encountered at least one political advertisement today – signs on a street corner, radio ads or on television.

DOUG DUCEY POLITICAL AD: Lobbyist Fred DuVal made middle class families pay more.

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: Numbers released by the Center for Public Integrity say that Arizonans have been exposed to more than 23,000 political television ads this election season.

FRED DUVAL POLITICAL AD: Doug Ducey cheated franchise owners and walked away with millions.

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: Arizona ranks seventh in the nation for political advertisement spending with an estimated $15 million spent just since January.

BRUCE MERRILL/MORRISON INSTITUTE: In this particular election it’s an open governor’s race. That always brings more competition, because either party has at least a chance to win.

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: Money spent advertising in the governor’s race makes up 82 percent of all campaign ad spending in the state. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Fred DuVal has spent about $850,000. But says he prefers direct communication with voters.

FRED DUVAL/DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: The best campaigns are those conducted in the candidates’ voices around the candidates’ ideas. I wish we could do that all the time instead of watching these ad wars take over.

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: Public opinion expert Bruce Merrill says voters shouldn’t be concerned about the amount of money spent, but rather the policy ideas candidates have.

BRUCE MERRILL/MORRISON INSTITUTE: Politics is the process by which we make decisions that affect every aspect of our lives for the next four years. How do you put a value on that?

THUY LAN NGUYEN/CRONKITE NEWS: We reached out to Republican candidate Doug Ducey about the more than $4 million his campaign has poured into advertisements. He just sent us an email response, stating, “My goal has been to reach as many Arizonans as possible,” and also reaffirmed his goal of traveling to meet his constituents in person.