DENVER -- There is more evidence that Colorado will have a big role in electing the next president of the United States. It's June and both candidates are already running TV commercials in Colorado.

Sen. Barack Obama began running a minute-long commercial Friday morning on Denver television.

It's called, "Country I Love" and it provides a biographical look at the senator from Illinois.

"America is a country of strong families and strong values. My life's been blessed by both," Obama said in the ad slated to run in 18 states as he tries to win over independents and disaffected Republicans. "If I have the honor of taking the oath of office as president, it will be with a deep and abiding faith in the country I love."

Sen. John McCain is now running his second commercial in the month of June. It focuses on global climate change and highlights his clash with the White House over the issue.

Political consultant Eric Sonderman told 7NEWS the early commercials are an indication that both campaigns think they can win in Colorado.

"It underscores that Colorado is a top target state," he said.

The campaigns are targeting 11 battleground states where they think they can win.

The Obama ad comes amid criticism over his decision to opt out of public financing for presidential elections.

Obama can now spend as much as he can raise and finance a strategy to compete in states Democrats historically ignore.

With his newfound financing freedom, Obama intends to test his theory that his appeal allows him to make Democrats competitive in states the party typically ignores, particularly in the South and Mountain West, and thereby give Democrats a better chance to win the White House.

It's possible that Obama doesn't expect to be competitive in all of his initial target states come the fall. He may simply be going on the air in some of them now to see whether he can move poll numbers to close any advantage the Republican candidate, John McCain, may have just because he's a Republican. At the very least, Obama can force McCain, who will accept public funding and the spending limits that come with it, to spend money in states Republicans have long viewed as safe.

With his announcement, the Democrat reversed an earlier stance.

In a questionnaire last year, Obama answered "yes" when asked: "If you are nominated for president in 2008 and your major opponents agree to forgo private funding in the general election campaign, will you participate in the presidential public financing system?" He added: "I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election."

Still, Obama's clear financial advantage over McCain is offset in part by the resources of the Republican National Committee, which has far more money in the bank than its Democratic Party counterpart. Both national parties can spend money on behalf of the presidential candidates.