Minnesota governor’s race is already the most expensive in state history

Many of the campaign television ads and text message ads you get on your phones are attacks on either Republican Lisa Demuth or Democrat Amy Klobuchar and are not paid for by either candidate.

Most, but not all, are the product of political action committees like Alliance for a Better Minnesota, which supports Democrats, or Restore Sanity, which supports Republicans.

“I don’t think we’ve seen so much outside spending on the Republican side before, but I think national Republican sources are seeing an opportunity in Minnesota they haven’t seen before,” says Carleton College political analyst Steven Schier.

So far, Demuth has benefited from $4.43 million in outside spending supporting her candidacy and $2.7 million in spending against Klobuchar. On the flip side, outside groups have spent $1.3 million against Demuth, while only $82,203 has been spent supporting Klobuchar.

The reas...