The TV air war in Nevada’s 2nd district special election is about to enter a new phase.

The National Republican Congressional Committee is going on the air with a sizable buy less than seven weeks before voters go to the polls. The NRCC is the first party or interest group to spend significantly on the race via an independent expenditure.

Former Nevada GOP Chairman Mark Amodei has the early edge in the mostly rural district that has never been held by a Democrat. But Treasurer Kate Marshall (D), who just launched her first two TV ads of the campaign Wednesday, has had early fundraising success and is calling out Amodei for his record in the state Legislature.

The NRCC’s ad buy was first reported Wednesday by the Las Vegas Sun’s Jon Ralston, and Hotline On Call first reported the $225,000 size of the buy.

An NRCC official told Roll Call the buy would be a little more than that, and that the ad, which is still not public, will begin airing Friday and will run for two weeks.

NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (Texas) signaled last week that the committee was willing to invest valuable resources on the race. He said that in a normal November election, the GOP would clearly have an advantage in the Republican district.

“But in a special election, since there’s never been one there, you always have to go fight as though you want to win,” he said. “We want to win.”

The election will take place Sept. 13, and early voting begins Aug. 27.