WASHINGTON - National political groups are funneling millions of dollars into Minnesota's governor race as part of a massive infusion of cash generated by interest groups across the country.
Since July, the Democratic and Republican governors associations have made major donations that brought their total contributions so far this year to more than $2 million.
Partisans on both sides of the political divide estimate that by the time voters go to the polls next month, independent political groups funded largely by special interests and corporations will have spent between $10 million and $15 million on the Minnesota governor's race alone, much of it on ads attacking DFLer Mark Dayton, Republican Tom Emmer and Independence Party candidate Tom Horner.
Amid that surge of campaign cash, some reformers worry about a lack of transparency. More ads are getting funded with dollars raised outside the state, with less stringent reporting requirements and from sources whose identities don't have to be immediately disclosed.
"A lot of money is coming in, and people just don't know where it's coming from," said Mike Dean, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota.
Minnesota's competitive governor's race has drawn attention as one of the few possible Democratic pickups in the nation.
"Minnesota is seen as one of the few bright spots around the country," said Ken Martin, executive director of Win Minnesota, a left-leaning political action group that has taken in some $1.5 million from the Democratic Governor's Association since the beginning of the year.
Win Minnesota is the main independent expenditure entity in the state funding Democratic-aligned groups such as Alliance for a Better Minnesota, which has been running TV ads going after Emmer.
On the other side, the Republican Governor's Association has sent nearly $1 million to Minnesota's Future, a business-oriented political group running ads criticizing Dayton.
"Everyone knows it's a close race, and we want to keep the state in Republican hands," said Chris Tiedeman, chair of Minnesota's Future.
Another pro-business group, MN Forward, is also backing Emmer.
But spokesman Brian McClung says the bulk of the group's money comes from Minnesota-based corporations such as TCF Bank, which gave MN Forward $100,000 through the newly formed State Fund for Economic Growth.
The spendy Sixth
Meanwhile, the nationally watched race between U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann and her Democratic challenger, state Sen. Tarryl Clark, continues to draw gasps from election finance watchers.
Since July, Bachmann has raised $5.4 million, and Clark has pulled in $1.8 million. Bachmann and Clark led their respective parties in third-quarter fundraising and Bachmann's total haul eclipses past records for a congressional campaign. Their race is the most expensive in the country.
A Star Tribune analysis of campaign finance reports shows 68 percent of Bachmann's major donations this year came from outside Minnesota, compared with 38 percent for Clark. California was the No. 1 source of out-of-state donations for both campaigns in 2010.
Small donations
But that's only part of the picture. Both campaigns are fueled primarily by small donations.
Federal election law requires donors to be named only if they give more than $200, leaving more than 60 percent of all 2010 individual donations to the Sixth District anonymous.
"This is not special interest money," Bachmann campaign spokesman Sergio Gor said of the small donations. "This is regular Americans who are sick and tired of the government getting too big, taxing them too much."
Carrie Lucking, a spokeswoman for the Clark campaign, said the campaign is "proud of their army of grassroots donors -- many of whom are on fixed incomes."
Bachmann's national profile, and the reaction against it, seem to be driving the flurry of money.
"It's no question that when you combine talk radio and TV with an aggressive online operation, it can produce powerful results," said Robert Willington, who worked on the pioneering Internet campaign of Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown.
Another potentially competitive congressional race between DFL incumbent Tim Walz and GOP challenger Randy Demmer in southern Minnesota has attracted outside ads from former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman's American Action Network, an "action tank" that plans to spend $19 million across 22 House districts.
Coleman declined to say how much his group is spending against Walz.
Whether all the spending cancels itself out remains to be seen. "The ultimate benefactors are TV stations," McClung said. "Because that's where the money is going."
Kevin Diaz is a correspondent in the Star Tribune Washington Bureau. Staff writer Jeremy Herb contributed to this report.
