Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has placed a huge $4 million ad buy for the fall campaign, Politico reported Thursday.

According to a memo circulated by Buchanan’s camp, the Florida Republican has reserved airtime from August 1 through November 5, with a two-week hiatus in late August.

“Given that Florida will be inundated with political advertising after Labor Day from the presidential race on down, the Buchanan ads were placed early to guarantee appropriate time slots on superior programming,” GOP consultant  Paul Curcio said in the memo.

The buy means Buchanan, one of the richest members of Congress, will likely be relying on his own money to fund the ad.  As of March 31 Buchanan’s campaign had $1.47 million cash on hand, and that already included nearly a half million dollars from him directly.

The buy also ensures Buchanan will get to defend himself against multiple ethics probes.

Congressional ethics investigators concluded in a report released earlier this month that Buchanan appeared to have tried to illegally influence the testimony of an ex-business partner regarding allegations of campaign finance violations. The House Ethics Committee, a separate entity, said it would further review the findings of the report. The same committee is also investigating whether Buchanan violated federal law by not fully disclosing his business holdings to Congress.

Tags | Paul Curcio, Vern Buchanan