PROVIDENCE – With a new political season upon us, one of the tasks facing politicians here and elsewhere is how to take advantage of the communications revolution of recent years.

One candidate has already found one way to take the new media plunge: State Rep. John J. Loughlin II, R-Tiverton, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., to represent the state’s 1st Congressional District.

Loughlin, who is the House minority whip, has been buying ads on Facebook in an effort to reach out to local voters at a low cost. Although Loughlin declined to offer details, in a brief e-mail he told Providence Business News the Facebook ad has “marginally helped” his campaign.

Loughlin is not a media novice – he owns Media-Rite LLC, a company that produces television commercials and corporate videos. But he faces an uphill battle against Kennedy, who has about $450,000 cash on hand, compared with Loughlin’s $110,000, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Loughlin’s Facebook pitch references Republican U.S. Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s upset victory over Martha Coakley to win the seat held by Kennedy’s father, the late Edward M. Kennedy, for more than four decades. “Could this be the next Kennedy seat to become the People’s Seat?” the advertisement asks.