Television ad spending in Minnesota is down dramatically in Minnesota due to the lack of competitive congressional or statewide races.

In 2018, $46 million was spent by outside special interest groups, mostly on television ads, but that number is less than $3 million this year — marking a more than 90% decrease.

RELATED: Special interest campaign spending plunges 96% in Minnesota

However, spending on direct mail campaign literature continues to soar, especially in the 15 or 20 competitive state legislative races.

“What you see in your mailbox are gaudy, usually single-piece mailers that have a very blunt and often disturbing message written in very bright letters in order to stick that in your mind as you carry that from the mailbox to the trash,” says Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier.

The ads make many dubious claims, with Democrats claiming Republican legislative candidates want to ban all abortions or allow domestic abusers to have access to guns.

Republicans counter with mailers claiming Democrats caused inflation through a dramatic increase in state spending and will spend $730 million on a new state office building one flier refers to as Barbie’s “dream house.”

True or not, Schier says they can have an impact. “People often really don’t know much about local state legislative races,” Schier said. “Therefore, any direct communication with a voter about that race can be significant…. and that’s what these mailers are. Direct communication with a voter.”

Nationally, the U.S. Postal Service says the volume of political mail increased between 2018 and 2022 from 2.9 million to 3.9 million, with the price tag growing from $575 million to $826 million in the same time frame. It could hit a billion dollars this year.