The Club for Growth began airing a TV ad last week for the 5th district special election chastising state Rep. Bob Latta (R) for his vote in favor of former Republican Gov. Bob Taft’s proposed budget, which, according to the club, included one of the largest tax increases in state history.

According to Andy Roth, the club’s director of government affairs, the ad buy started Friday and is scheduled to run for a week on both broadcast and cable television. Roth added in an e-mail that there’s a “high likelihood” that the ad buy will be extended past the first week.

The club has endorsed Latta’s main opponent, state Sen. Steve Buehrer (R), in the GOP primary. The special election to replace the late Rep. Paul Gillmor (R) is widely seen as a contest between Buehrer and Latta. The primary is set for Nov. 6 and the general election is set for Dec. 11.

Buehrer’s state Senate district comprises most of the 5th district, but Latta has some name identification from when his father held the Congressional seat before Gillmor. The district is a Republican stronghold, so the GOP primary is widely viewed as the contest that will decide the next Member.

— Shira Toeplitz