Political ads make a run for the border

In the race for the presidency, the little guy is winning -- at least among Minnesota broadcasters trying to profit from campaign commercials. While a record-breaking $3.3 billion is expected to be spent nationwide on political ads this season, relatively little of that cash is flowing into the Twin Cities TV market. But it's boom times for Minnesota stations in smaller markets along the borders of battleground states Wisconsin and Iowa.

Campaigns have spent less than expected in the Twin Cities because President Obama appears to have a sizable lead in the metro, said Rob Hubbard, general manager of KSTP, Ch. 5. "TV advertising is not going to make someone a 40-point winner, but in close races, TV ads can swing things a percent or two," he said. Unfortunately for Hubbard, only 4 percent of his audience lives in hotly contested Wisconsin. That helps explain why Twin Cities TV stations have collected a relatively modest $3 million from commercials supporting either Obama or Mitt Romney, according to data from the Campaign Media Analysts Group and interpreted by the Washington Post.