The midterm election is eight months away, yet more than $650,000 has already been spent on Spanish-language TV and radio ads designed to reelect Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto. In neighboring Arizona, more than twice that amount has been plowed so far into Spanish-language ads backing Sen. Mark Kelly.

The large — and unusually early — expenditures are a sign that Democrats are beginning to take seriously the gains Republicans are making among Latino voters. Yet they’re also a reflection of something else: the key role the two battleground states will play in determining control of the Senate in November…

Latino organizers and leaders in both states emphasize that Republicans are executing their own effort on the ground — and it’s going to take much more than Spanish-language ads to ensure Democratic victories in November.

“It’s going to be harder than we think it is. While Republicans may not be making big buys in Spanish radio or TV, we’re certainly seeing them on the ground,” said Melissa Morales, president of Somos PAC, a Latino voter mobilization organization that targets battleground states. “They’re running Latino-focused events in Nevada right now… They know we’re there and they’re there, too.”