Chamber of Commerce to launch ads supporting Joe Heck

The GOP establishment’s “protect the Senate” plan moves West this week — to battleground Nevada.

CNN is told the Chamber of Commerce’s political arm will launch TV ads midweek supporting GOP Rep. Joe Heck, the establishment favorite for the Senate seat now held by retiring Democratic Sen. Harry Reid.

The Chamber ad buy is part of an aggressive strategy of early spending in states likely to prove tough Senate battlegrounds because of their more Democratic leanings in presidential election years.

The Chamber played a major role in the 2014 GOP Senate strategy, and decided soon after those big wins — which included some primary battles with the tea party — to begin laying the groundwork to protect the new GOP majority come 2016.

The first ads were launched last week to support two GOP incumbents: Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania and Rob Portman of Ohio. Now it’s Nevada, with more to come soon.