Campaign-style ads for Casey

His reelection date is almost two years away, but Sen. Bob Casey is already the beneficiary of radio ads running across the state, touting his "courage" in Washington.

The Communication Workers of America began running the spots in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Erie, Johnstown and elsewhere on Monday, praising the Democratic senator for signing on as a supporter of filibuster reform in the Senate. The effort failed late last month, though Democratic and Republican leaders did agree to some rule changes designed to make the chamber more efficient.

Casey, says the campaign-style ad -- with moody piano music, followed by swelling horns -- "had the courage to stand up to the status quo and finally do something about the broken ways of Washington."

CWA spokeswoman said the spot is part of the Fix The Senate Now campaign (with support from the AFL-CIO, Common Cause and the Sierra Club, which is designed in part to clear the way for stalled bills like the union-friendly Employee Free Choice (aka "card check") legislation.

"The 111th Congress will be known for partisan gridlock and obstructionism. We had hoped that we could move forward for the 112th, but that wasn't possible. We'll keep up the fight and will gain even more supporters, as middle class families and voters demand real democracy and representation from their senators," she said in an email.

The spot runs through Sunday. You can listen here.

Republicans have been organizing against Casey since at least December of last year. Former Santorum staffer Marc Scaringi has already announced his candidacy, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee routinely criticizes Casey in press releases.