TV ads targeting legislative races cast wide net

It’s not unprecedented, but it is unusual to see so many expensive broadcast television ads targeting state legislative races in Minnesota. All of the spending is coming from the DFL Party running ads against Republicans in competitive Senate districts.

“It illustrates two things,” says Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier. “First, the Democrats have an awful lot of money and second of all, they feel the need to spend a lot of it right now which means they see some tough races.”

Schier says if you’re going to spend resources on local legislative races, Senate campaigns make the most sense.

“Senate districts are not usually as overwhelmingly partisan on average as House districts and therefore they’re more competitive and that is why you see a lot of money going into state Senate races,” Schier said.

The DFL does have a huge fundraising advantage that allows them to spend so much on broadcast TV, although Schier says it might not be the most efficient use of resources.

“It’s a very inefficient way to get your message out,” he said. “To spend, to cover the entire metro, in order to message a specific state Senate district.”

A Republican legislative campaign source tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they will target specific districts through cable TV and digital ad buys. Part of that is for strategic reasons, but part of it is because they don’t have nearly as much money to spend.

In a new fundraising report released Monday, the Minnesota DFL Party says it’s raised $30.5 million for state and federal campaigns, including $19.6 million for state campaigns. The Minnesota Republican Party, which hasn’t yet reported its latest figures, reported raising $1.2 million thru late September.