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Capitol View®
Catharine Richert

As primary nears, candidates buy extra airtime

Go Deeper.

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With less than a week to go before the primary, candidates are taking to the airwaves to make last-minute pitches to potential voters.

Among them is Rep. Kurt Zellers of Maple Grove, who is spending more than $30,000 on airtime with four major Twin Cities networks as he seeks the GOP nomination for governor.

The buy could be bigger than that. The Federal Communications Commission requires television stations to report which campaigns are buying airtime to broadcast political ads, but cable channels aren't included.

Zellers' campaign didn't return calls to give details about the buy.

Zellers is competing in the Aug. 12 primary against former state Rep. Marty Seifert, businessman Scott Honour and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson to be the GOP candidate challenging DFL Gov. Mark Dayton this fall.

Honour and Johnson have recently broadcast television ads. Seifert's campaign said it is contemplating a last-minute buy on Twin Cities cable, and greater Minnesota markets between Friday and Tuesday. Seifert may also extend some radio ads in Little Falls and Winona, which a campaign spokesperson points out have contested local primaries that may drive turn-out on primary day.

Though Dayton has no clear opponent yet, a group backing his reelection campaign has dropped at least $77,000 more to continue running an ad touting Dayton's accomplishments through primary day. A spokesperson for the Alliance for a Better Minnesota says the group has spent a total of $500,000 on the spot.

Meanwhile,  Matt Entenza, a DFL candidate for state auditor, has dropped at least $85,000 on ads in the Twin Cities market. He's running against State Auditor Rebecca Otto in a race that has become unexpectedly contested since Entenza filed for office.

Otto was on the air earlier this month.

Then there's the U.S. Senate race.

Republican Mike McFadden is expected to win the GOP primary against Anoka Rep. Jim Abeler to run against DFL Sen. Al Franken in the general election. Still, McFadden extended a run of his current ad, "Stitches," through the end of the primary on broadcast and cable, spending at least $100,000 to do so.

Franken is spending at least $125,000 on another round of his latest ad.