Hunter, an Alpine Republican, started airing two 30-second ads over the weekend in South Carolina, North Carolina and South Dakota. Both ads focus on Hunter's assertion that China is stealing U.S. jobs and threatening its security by “cheating” at trade. The ads will air for two weeks.

Joel Rivlin, deputy director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project, said Hunter's commercials appear to be the first of the 2008 presidential campaign with the possible exception of ads aired recently in New Hampshire urging that Illinois Sen. Barack Obama be drafted as the Democratic nominee. The commercials were prepared and financed independently of Obama.

The Wisconsin project studies how candidates, political parties and special interest groups communicate with voters.

Hunter's congressional and political aides weren't available yesterday to say how much the ads cost to produce and broadcast. The costs are being picked up by Hunter's leadership political action committee – Peace Through Strength – which offers links to the ads on its Web site.

Hunter, who will lose his position as chairman of the House Armed Services Committee when Democrats take over Congress next month, established the PAC as a vehicle for promoting his views on national security and for supporting GOP candidates with a similar philosophy.

The committee can air the ads because they focus on issues, such as trade and national defense, and do not overtly seek support for Hunter as a candidate.

Hunter, who has said he is likely to become a formal candidate, has yet to establish an exploratory committee that would allow him to raise money to assess his chances against other possible candidates.

After avowing an interest in seeking the presidency, Hunter made his first foray to a key battleground more than two weeks ago when he spent two days in South Carolina. A politically crucial state, it will hold the nation's second presidential primary after the traditional first-in-the-nation primary balloting in New Hampshire. During the trip, he discussed issues relating to national defense, trade and border security and did not overtly solicit votes.

He also paid a visit Saturday to Iowa, which will cast the first presidential votes of the campaign when its two state parties hold caucuses to begin the process of choosing national convention delegates.

Hunter's decision to air the ads in South Dakota's Rapid City media market puzzled political experts, including GOP officials in that state. They pointed out that South Dakota's sparse population and early June primary date guarantee it will likely have no effect on the choice of the presidential nominees of either party.