The American Action Network has reserved $860,000 worth of television ad time in Minneapolis in advance of this November’s elections.
The AAN, a center-right group lead by former Minnesota U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, will air issue advocacy ads and not ones specifically supporting individual candidates, which is in line with laws governing spending by 501(c)4 groups like this. In a statement, a spokeswoman said the ads will “enable the Network to directly communicate with local households about the key congressional candidates and issues in their area.”
An example of an issue advocacy ad: one urging Rep. Chip Cravaack to vote for a bill repealing the Affordable Care Act, launched by the AAN last week. The ad clearly supports Cravaack and an issue he stands for, but it stops short of actually endorsing his re-election.
The Republican and Democratic U.S. House campaign committees have both reserved time in Minnesota this fall.
The AAN has launched a $10 million effort to support Republican candidates in “orphan states,” or those with competitive races but with state parties that are struggling financially. The group has said Minnesota will be one of the states it focuses on this fall.
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.
