Pro-Romney super PAC launches MN ad buy
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney may not be spending much on ads in Minnesota in the waning days of his campaign, but Restore Our Future, a super PAC dedicated solely to electing Romney, says it's buying $1.1 million worth of ad time in the state.
It begins today and will rotate between two ads through Election Day, according to the group.
It's the first time Restore Our Future has advertised here.
Meanwhile, it appears that Romney has scaled back an initial $30,000 ad buy in the Twin Cities market. According to Federal Communications Commission filings, his $13,000 buy with KSTP has decreased to $650. An order for $16,550 with KARE11 still stands, according to the FCC.
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Romney's campaign spokeswoman wouldn't comment on the buy.
Though Restore Our Future can't coordinate with the Romney campaign, the group's ads will boost his campaign in the area. According to the FCC, Restore Our Future has so far reserved air time with KMSP and KSTP, both in the Twin Cities market, for a total of $186,350. That means these ads will also air in Wisconsin, which is considered a battleground state.
The ads will also air statewide and on cable in Minnesota, according to Brittany Gross, the group's spokeswoman. Those orders don't show up in FCC filings.
Restore Our Future treasurer Charlie Spies said the group is advertising here because Obama's hold on the state is tenuous.
"The Obama campaign has been forced to advertise in Pennsylvania and Michigan, and Bill Clinton, the top Obama surrogate, has been sent to campaign in Minnesota. Now polls show a tightening race in New Mexico," he said.
Clinton was here yesterday, and at least one poll shows Obama with a narrow 3 percentage point lead in Minnesota.
But a separate poll released yesterday by KSTP/SurveyUSA shows Obama has a 7 percentage point lead over Romney.
Meanwhile, the Obama campaign is downplaying those polls, saying that Romney's worried about having enough electoral votes to win next Tuesday.
Obama, meanwhile, still has more than $360,000 worth of air time reserved with KSTP, KARE11 and KMSP between now and Election Day, according to the latest FCC filings.