Coleman to cancel negative ads.
GOP Sen. Norm Coleman says he will pull his negative ads and is calling on his supporters to cancel their negative ads as well. Coleman announced the decision at a news conference this morning. He also said he's not attending the McCain campaign event in Lakeville to handle his decision.
Here's the audio from his news conference.
It will be easy for Coleman to take down his negative ads. It may be more difficult to convince his supporters to do the same (especially since this race is a dead heat). A check of the Twin Cities stations show that several groups have reserved ad time to praise Norm/criticize Al Franken. They include the National Federation of Independent Business, Republicans Who Care (a 527), the National Republican Senatorial Committee, A Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (a coalition of business groups), the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Employee Freedom Action Committee (which is opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act).
For the record, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, American Rights at Work, the Alliance for a Better Minnesota are running ads criticizing Coleman and praising Al Franken.
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I-P candidate Dean Barkley's campaign issued this statement on Coleman's decision:
"It's great to see Sen. Coleman has realized Minnesotans want something better from their candidates. Let's hope his surrogates in Washington follow his lead.
"Meanwhile, while Sen. Coleman tries his best to un-ring a bell, we'll continue talking with voters about the important issues facing our state and country. They deserve nothing less and we don't need an opinion poll to know that."
-Christopher Truscott,
Barkley campaign spokesman
No word from Franken's campaign yet.
Update: here's statement from Franken's communications director, Andy Barr:
"From the start, our campaign has focused on the change Minnesota needs. And we will continue to focus on our competing views of how our country has gone in the wrong direction, how we can curb the influence of special interests in Washington, and how we can get out of the tough economic situation we're now in.
"Given that this week's polls are clearly showing that Minnesotans are sick of Norm Coleman's campaign of character assassination, today's stunt rings as a cynical ploy designed to change the subject and avoid scrutiny of his own record. It's like an arsonist burning down every house in the village and then asking to be named fire chief.
"It's worth noting that even in his own statement, Norm Coleman makes it clear that he intends to continue attacking Al Franken. But we are proud of the campaign we've run, and we will remain focused on talking about the issues that matter to Minnesota and the change Al Franken wants to bring to Washington."