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Coleman group launches ad buy against Nolan

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Norm Coleman’s American Action Network is including U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan in a $1 million national ad buy against nine vulnerable Democrats.

WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Norm Coleman’s American Action Network is including U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan in a $1 million national ad buy against nine vulnerable Democrats.

AAN’s ad highlights the Obama administration’s proposed cuts to the Medicare Advantage program. The administration says the cuts would reduce payments by less than 2 percent, but the industry argues they could be worth up to 6 percent.

Officials initially proposed a similar round of cuts to Medicare Advantage last year, but the idea was eventually abandoned and the program actually received a boost in funding.

The 30-second ad focuses on Obama’s early promises that the Affordable Care Act wouldn’t reduce Medicare payments, makes its warnings about the proposed cuts this year, and highlights Nolan’s support for the law.

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American Action Network spent $50,000 on Nolan’s portion of the ad buy. The ad will run on Duluth-Superior cable for a couple of weeks, according to a group spokeswoman. Three Democratic senators and one other House member are targets of television ads; AAN is going after four additional House members with other digital ads, according to Politico.

American Action Network spent heavily against Nolan during his 2012 challenge against then-Rep. Chip Cravaack. Republicans think Nolan, who won that race by 9 points, is vulnerable this cycle, and conservative groups have already poured money into this race: Americans For Prosperity spent $225,000 on TV ads against Nolan last December.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com.