The DFL Party had more financial and technical resources than the state Republican Party and deployed those resources more effectively.

The Democrats’ central party fund spent some $2.2 million on independent expenditures and had about $440,000 cash on hand as of the Oct. 20 reporting date, which edges out Republican numbers.

East Metro DFLers have an election fight on their hands.

DFL-aligned spending groups marshal their forces.

The DFL leads in party fundraising, but the conservative spending outlook is obscured by a big field of candidates for governor.

Gov. Mark Dayton continues to lead the fundraising contest against his GOP opponents -- the four of whom must still compete in an August primary -- with more than $750,000 cash on hand, according to campaign finance documents released Tuesday.

To hear the left tell it, they are the plucky little Davids against a growing tide of conservative corporate cash threatening to drown politics in oligarchic money.

Longtime Republican donors Stanley Hubbard and Tom Rosen are mounting a campaign of their own this year. The broadcasting magnate and beef processing CEO are trying to get a vast and complicated web of GOP donors, operatives and activists to march in step when it comes to the 2014 elections.

In recent election cycles, Alliance for a Better Minnesota has galvanized support for DFL candidates and causes. The Minnesota Jobs Coalition is hoping to play a similar role on behalf of Republicans.

GOP-aligned independent groups have rushed to fill the campaign spending gap that Republicans face in their battle for continued control of the Minnesota Legislature.