In an attempt to shore up support for certain candidates, outside political groups are bankrolling mailers and radio advertisements in New Hampshire in the run-up to Tuesday's presidential primary. Most of the effort is taking place on the Democratic side, with candidates Hillary Clinton and John Edwards benefiting from the spending sprees.

Nationally, "we've had more groups get involved earlier in a much bolder way than we've seen in the past," said Anthony Corrado, a professor of government at Colby College and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "Generally as a rule, there's more on the Democratic side, because the labor unions are so big and important."

Thus far, outside groups have spent far less in New Hampshire than in Iowa, where presidential caucuses took place yesterday. But labor unions and union-backed groups have still dedicated tens of thousands of dollars to New Hampshire advertising, much of it in mailer form, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

In some cases, independent groups use their financial clout to criticize a particular candidate, rather than distributing positive advertisements about their preferred candidate. Candidates are barred from coordinating their efforts with outside groups, a regulation that allows candidates to distance themselves from the actions of such groups.

"What they're very good at is putting attacks in place that candidates would be uncomfortable doing in their own voices," said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg School for Communication. "The candidate who benefits doesn't carry any penalty, doesn't carry the sense that the person has gone negative."

In recent weeks, voters have received mail criticizing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's health care plan as "a band-aid solution" that would leave "15 million Americans uninsured." The mailers were crafted to imply that Edwards is the favored candidate of the group distributing the mail: One mailer quotes Edwards criticizing Obama's plan. But the mailers were actually created by a committee of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which endorsed Clinton and is spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to support her candidacy.

Altogether, AFSCME spent nearly $80,000 on New Hampshire mailers opposing Obama in recent weeks, according to FEC filings. The group has expended roughly the same amount on mailers supporting Clinton.

AFSCME has also paid for radio spots in New Hampshire, said GOP consultant Dave Carney, who recently heard one of the ads "ripping Obama's health care plan."

In addition, Clinton has the support of the American Federation of Teachers and Emily's List, which is dedicated to helping pro-choice Democratic women win political office. In an attempt to increase turnout and reach more than 50,000 Democratic female voters in the run-up to the primary, Emily's List has paid for pro-Clinton mailers in the state. The group is targeting women who have voted in the past and who tend to decide on a candidate in the final days before an election.

Edwards, meanwhile, is the beneficiary of the Alliance for a New America, an independent organization linked to the Service Employees International Union. The group has paid for mailers in New Hampshire, and has focused its efforts on touting Edwards as the candidate working to change the Washington political system. In Iowa, the group spent more than $750,000 on television advertisements that promoted Edwards's positions on issues such as trade deals and banning campaign money from lobbyists.

Although Edwards won free advertising from the Alliance for a New America - a so-called 527 group - the alliance's efforts also exposed him to criticism from Obama. Edwards has repeatedly criticized such groups, and called for the ads to be taken down. In reference to the ads, Obama recently said that, "all of us have to try to practice what we preach."

Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd has enjoyed a boost from a political committee of the International Association of Firefighters. In New Hampshire, the group has spent nearly $30,000 to support Dodd, according to FEC filings.

No outside groups have distributed mailers or run advertisements on Obama's behalf in New Hampshire, and Obama has attempted to turn that distance into a campaign issue. "The case has never been clearer - this kind of politics needs to end," Obama campaign manager David Plouffe wrote in a recent fundraising e-mail.

In past elections, one Democrat has frequently attracted the support of most labor union groups, Jamieson said. Because union support this year is split, "it's more difficult for people to get a handle on a triangulated attack," she said, pointing to the AFSCME mailers critical of Obama that cite Edwards.

On the Republican side, outside groups have been less active in New Hampshire.

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