HARRISBURG — The Republican nominee for attorney general and the well-funded political action committees that support him have spent more than $13 million to flood Pennsylvania’s airwaves with television ads leading up to Election Day.

His Democratic opponent, meanwhile, spent only $3.1 million for the same purpose.

The race for the post of attorney general is relatively discreet but very fraught with consequences. The attorney general defends Pennsylvania’s laws and election results, joins multistate legal battles and prosecutes everything from political corruption to gun and drug trafficking. This powerful and highly visible position has launched previous officials – like the current governor. Josh Shapiro – to higher office.

“This level of disparity in spending can be very difficult to overcome, especially in a race that doesn’t get the same kind of deserved media coverage as, say, the presidential election,” said Anne Wakabayashi, a Democratic political consultant who does not is not involved in the race for attorney general.

Democratic candidate Eugene DePasquale served as Pennsylvania’s auditor general for eight years, earning him statewide prominence. Sunday is the York County prosecutor.

Wakabayashi says she sees spending on TV ads to support Sunday as an effort to boost his profile, calling him a “relative unknown.” DePasquale, she said, “has been in office for a long time, from the State House to statewide office. He led real campaigns.

The total spending of $16.7 million includes television advertising booked between June 11 and November 5 and reported to the FCC. Total ad spend, including for digital promotions, is even higher.

Sunday received significant support from a PAC financed largely by Pennsylvania’s richest person, GOP megadonor Jeff Yass, and a PAC associated with the Republican Attorneys General Association. Both spent millions of dollars on ads supporting Sunday and attacking DePasquale.

The Commonwealth Leaders Fund, the PAC backed by Yass, also gave $800,000 directly to Sunday’s campaign. Sunday’s campaign brought in just over $1 million in direct contributions during this reporting cycle — from Sept. 17 to Oct. 21 — on top of the $1.2 million from the previous cycle.

But that amount pales in comparison to additional in-kind contributions from the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, which total just under $10 million. In-kind contributions are expenses coordinated with the campaign.

Much of this in-kind spending contributed to the $13.6 million in pro-Sunday or anti-DePasquale television ads. But $38,000 was also spent on production, $3.3 million on printing and postage and $700,000 on digital advertising.

Other notable donors to Sunday’s campaign include the PAC for Comcast; Republican Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman of Indiana County; the Northeast Leadership Fund, which is chaired by a Luzerne County real estate developer; and a PAC for skill game operators.

DePasquale’s campaign is the only entity spending money on television ads to support his candidacy. A spokesperson said the campaign was also aware of additional independent digital advertising, but not how much was being spent or who was funding it.

In financial reports filed last week, DePasquale said he brought in nearly $1.8 million in the most recent reporting cycle, on top of the nearly $2.2 million from the previous cycle, plus about $100 000 dollars in in-kind contributions. Large donations included $650,000 from the Democratic Attorneys General Association and $100,000 from Shapiro. DePasquale also saw significant contributions from unions, including the Pennsylvania chapter of the SEIU and the state carpenters union.

Few surveys have covered the race for attorney general, but they indicate a close race.

Sunday at touted his history as a prosecutor and focused his campaign on public safetysaying it aims to crack down on illegal gun possession and fentanyl sales. He maintains that he has a holistic view of criminal justice that includes education for certain offenders and other public services in lieu of prison time.

Advertisements funded on his behalf by the Keystone Prosperity PAC focused more aggressively on undocumented immigrantsand I searched to link Sunday to Donald Trumpsaying they will both end “anarchy”.

DePasquale pledged to protect abortion rights and argued in advertisements that Sunday would not be. In recent weeks he has accused Sunday of letting criminals get away too easily during his tenure as York DA – an angle similar to that seen in the pro-Sunday Keystone Prosperity ads.

He has also focused his campaign on prosecuting hate crimes and says he would bring to the attorney general’s office his personal family experience with drug addiction and the criminal justice system, as well as his previous experience administering a large state agency.

Stephen Caruso and Kate Huangpu of Spotlight PA contributed reporting to this story.