WackoJacko83, I had this problem in the beginning and the best advice i van give you is, do heavy advertising in the beginning. I started in Michigan then to ohio, Pennsylvannia, Florida and when i was done in florida every state turned blue which made is next to impossible for him to beat me because he had to campaign everywhere which is not possible. After Florida i went to California and advertised and after that I just kept an eye on all his moves and countered everything he advertised with my own.
There's also something else you should know... Dominate the issue "War on Terror". This is usually the most important factor in the game and this goes also on any issue. Who ever advertises about an issue first dominates that issue and this comes in handy. Hope this helps you.
Oh yeah and Ctrl+M gives you 5 million dollars;)