State Sen. Geoff Michel releases campaign ad

Republican state Sen. Geoff Michel has a new campaign ad out this week, one of the first television spots released this election season by a legislative candidate.

The ad, titled “The Answer,”  pictures Michel with his wife and daughters and highlights his goals “to reign in spending, to lower taxes and make Minnesota the best place to do business.”

While many consider the popular,  two-term senator’s seat safe, voters in the area have swung Democratic in the past. In 2008, then Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama beat John McCain in the suburban district that covers Edina and Bloomington with 54 percent of the vote. George W. Bush beat out John Kerry by less than 1 percent in 2004.

Bloomington City Councilmember Steve Elkins is Michel’s DFL challenger. At the end of the last campaign finance reporting period, Michel reported having more than $82,000 in the bank, with Elkins reporting just more than $4,000 on hand.