PhRMA has been busy the past few weeks running ads in D.C. media outlets touting the number of jobs supported by the pharmaceutical industry in key states.

Interestingly, the target states - California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington - are represented predominantly by Democratic senators. It's a pretty safe group of likely "yea" votes for healthcare reform, PhRMA's biggest issue before Congress.

So why spend all the money?

"We're doubling down," said PhRMA's chief spokesman Ken Johnson. "It's intended to be a reminder of the importance of our industry to select states around the country."

According to the ads - from data supplied by an outfit called Archstone Consulting - the job impacts are evidently impressive: 211,287 jobs in New Jersey, 89,675 jobs in Maryland, and 57,191 jobs in Colorado, for example.

PhRMA is a staunch supporter of healthcare reform, but likes the Senate bill better than the House language. "It respects medical innovation," said Johnson. Still, there are many tweaks coming in the Senate measure and the industry is pulling all the stops to make sure its voice is heard as the deliberations continue.

"Clearly we're trying to raise awareness of the contributions our industry makes to a lot of state economies," Johnson said. "Healthcare reform done in bad way will kill jobs."

PhRMA has spent $20 million on lobbying this year, according to OpenSecrets.org.