Weekend brings slew of new ads in governor’s, House races

With just over three weeks to go until election day, political groups and candidates are releasing a new flurry of ads. Joel Demos, the Republican challenger to Rep. Keith Ellison, has released his first television ad, while the DFL and Alliance for a Better Minnesota both put out ads criticizing Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Rep. Tim Walz released his third ad of the election cycle — and the first one to target his Republican opponent Randy Demmer.

The DFL’s new ad criticizes Pawlenty’s record on education and says that DFLer Mark Dayton will “make our schools the best.”

“No matter which Tom you pick, you still end up with Tim,” states the Alliance for a Better Minnesota ad. The argument: Both Republican candidate Tom Emmer and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner would continue Pawlenty’s policies.

Joel Demos, “end-times” associate pastor and Ellison’s challenger, released his first TV spot, which according to the campaign will air “between the Gopher game with Wisconsin on Saturday and Randy Moss’ return to the Vikings on Monday” to get “maximum exposure.”

Rep. Walz’s ad criticizes Demmer’s statements in support of privatizing Social Security.