The artillery war officially formally got underway this week in the most-watched legislative battleground in the state as the Operating Engineers launched a $240,000 cable ad buy against state Senator Jennifer Beck (R-11).

The ad is running on CNN and MSNBC.

The Operating Engineers back Democrat Vin Gopal for senate in the district. A week ago, Beck told InsiderNJ that she anticipated a coming cable ad explosion from her rivals.

Muscled up on the fundraising scale, the Gopal for Senate campaign will go live Tuesday with a positive ad of its own.