It's nice to have friends in high places.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has started running a pro-Rep. Jim Matheson TV ad in Utah — an independent ad campaign that is costing the national pro-business organization nearly $150,000 over the next two weeks.

And this from a group that ran anti-Matheson TV spots here just six years ago.

The chamber's TV buy is unusual, both because it comes so early in the final campaign season and because of its size. At nearly $150,000, the chamber's buy is more than many Utah congressional candidates spend on their own campaign TV ads.

Under Federal Election Commission law, an independent political campaign run by a political action committee can't coordinate with any candidate's campaign.

"And we did not know this was coming," said Alyson Heyrend, a spokeswoman for Matheson, D-Utah. "But the chamber has given the congressman their Spirit of Enterprise Award the last few years."

Bill Miller, the chamber's vice president and political director, said Matheson wins the pro-business group's "automatic endorsement" because the congressman voted with the chamber's agenda more than 70 percent of the time.

"He's done nothing but be a strong supporter of us," Miller said.

The ads are unique for another reason: Most national political pundits have taken Matheson's 2nd Congressional District out of play this year — the incumbent is so strong that various groups no longer say Matheson is vulnerable to losing his seat.

A recent Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll by Dan Jones & Associates found that Matheson, the lone Democrat in Utah's congressional delegation, is leading his GOP challenger, state Rep. LaVar Christensen, 64 percent to 23 percent among registered voters.

National PACs usually stay out of races in which one or the other candidate is deemed safe. But Miller said Matheson's political strength was not a factor.

"He's an important friend and we wanted 2nd District voters to know that," Miller said.

One reason the ads are coming so early in this election campaign, Miller said, is because new FEC rules don't allow independent radio or TV ads within 60 days of Election Day. This year that is Sept. 9. The chamber may provide some non-electronic aid to Matheson within that two-month black-out window, but that decision hasn't been made yet, Miller added.

Matheson, in Salt Lake City while Congress is out of session for several weeks, said, "I have support from a wide range of people and groups. I'm not a mouthpiece for any group, including the national Democratic Party" or the Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber ranks each congressman according to several dozen votes. Matheson sided with the chamber position 23 times out of 32 votes the business group deemed important. That's more than a 70 percent "correct" voting record, according to the chamber.