ABM to run TV ad backing Dayton

The Alliance for a Better Minnesota, a network of DFL groups, unions and wealthy donors, will start running a TV ad this week praising Gov. Mark Dayton’s accomplishments in his first term.

“Four years ago, we faced a five billion dollar deficit and were mired in a deep recession,” The Alliance for a Better Minnesota’s Carrie Lucking wrote in an e-mail. “Now, after four years of strong leadership from Gov. Mark Dayton, we're seeing some of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. This is a story worth telling, so we made this ad and we need your help spreading the word.”

The ad praises Dayton for turning a state budget deficit into a surplus, spending more money on education and serving at a time when more than 150,000 jobs were created in Minnesota.

Public records show ABM is spending roughly $116,250 on the ad campaign through Aug. 5. The ad comes just weeks after the conservative Freedom Club started running an ad criticizing Dayton’s leadership.

Four Republican candidates are still vying to win their party’s nomination and challenge Dayton in November. Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, state Representative Kurt Zellers, businessman Scott Honour and former state Rep. Marty Seifert are running in the Aug. 12 primary.

Here’s the ad:

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