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Days before GOP convention, Ortman to air first ad

Just before the Republican endorsing convention, Sen. Julianne Ortman will be running ads on TV stations in the Twin Cities.

Ortman, who represents Chanhassen, is seeking her party's endorsement to challenge Sen. Al Franken in the primary. She's counting on party backing to continue her campaign, otherwise she will drop out of the race.

UPDATE: Ortman's campaign says that they will spend $20,000 to air the ad on all four Twin Cities broadcast networks, cable and satellite. Included in the buy are radio spots.

Mike McFadden, Ortman's primary endorsement opponent, has already aired two ads.

According to documents filed with the Federal Communications Commission, Ortman is planning to spend at least $2,500 for a few spots on ABC affiliate KSTP and Fox affiliate KMSP.

It's a small purchase compared to her main competitor for the endorsement, Mike McFadden, who has spent at least $9,800 on ads so far.

Ortman's campaign was not immediately available to say whether the campaign planned more spots on other networks.