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Minnesota Tops List of DSCC, NRSC Spending

In the final week of the campaign, both the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee have made Minnesota’s tossup race their top independent expenditure priority, according to numbers obtained by Roll Call.

The DSCC has dropped more than $3.4 million for the final week in the ongoing battle between former comedian Al Franken (D) and Sen. Norm Coleman (R). That’s $1.3 million more than the DSCC is spending in any other state during the final week of the campaign.

The NRSC, meanwhile, is dropping nearly $1.8 million in Minnesota in the final week.

The 2-to-1 spending advantage in the final week in Minnesota is comparable to the 2-to-1 advantage the DSCC has maintained in overall IE spending for the cycle. Through Oct. 24, the DSCC had spent $53.2 million for the cycle compared to $27.4 million by the NRSC.

The DSCC’s second largest spending priority in the final week is in North Carolina, where first-term Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) is in a fight for her political life with state Sen. Kay Hagan (D). The Democratic committee is spending $2.1 million in that race in the final week compared to nearly $1.1 million by its Republican counterparts.

Republicans are putting more than $1.3 million into Georgia, where Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) is in an unexpectedly tight battle with former state Rep. Jim Martin (D). The DSCC is spending $1.6 million in the last week of the campaign in the Peach State.

The final seven days of the race have also seen the DSCC drop almost $2 million in Oregon, where state Speaker Jeff Merkley (D) has a shot at knocking off second-term Sen. Gordon Smith (R). The NRSC is spending just $830,000 in the final week in that contest.

Two places where the NRSC is outspending the DSCC — though only slightly — are in Mississippi and Louisiana.

Another key Senate race that could well be the difference in Democrats obtaining a filibuster-proof majority is the Kentucky battle between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and wealthy businessman Bruce Lunsford (D). The DSCC is spending $1.8 million in the final week in Kentucky while the NRSC has not made any IE purchases in the state in the last seven days of the campaign. McConnell has been one of the most well-funded incumbents of the cycle and as of Sept. 30 he reported $5.7 million in cash on hand to Lunsford’s $1.2 million.

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