Less than two weeks before Election Day, Minnesota for Marriage released its hardest-hitting television commercial in support of passing a constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage. The ad featured Massachusetts parents David and Tonia Parker.

When it comes to spending by Minnesota’s political parties, the state DFL has emerged as the No. 1 player in the 2012 battle for control of Legislature.

The six major business-backed spending groups have poured more than $2.6 million worth of independent expenditures into legislative races as of October 22. Campaign finance reports released today show that a national GOP political group has pumped more than half a million dollars this month in the bid to preserve GOP control of the Legislature.

Business-backed PACs continued their fundraising push in the late summer as the focus shifted from contested primaries to November's general election. Most of their spending was dedicated to supporting first-term Republican incumbents in swing districts.

Republican legislative leaders face challenges in amassing a suitable war chest due to both a well-fortified traditional DFL donor base and a state Republican Party that is financially imperiled.

On Tuesday hundreds of labor unions, business groups, lobbying shops and other independent political organizations submitted reports detailing how much money they’ve raised so far this year, what they’ve already spent and how much they have in the bank.

Political funds MN Forward and Minnesota’s Future, which have spent money on ads supporting GOP gubernatorial nominee Tom Emmer and attacking DFLer Mark Dayton, have raised more than $3 million this year.

It's getting down to the final days of the 2010 campaign season, and candidates and third-party groups are rapidly releasing television ads in the Minnesota governor's race before Election Day arrives.

The Republican Governors Association turned heads yesterday when it announced that it raised $31 million in the third quarter of 2010 and had slightly more than that amount in the bank. To put that figure in perspective, it's three times the amount raised by its Democratic counterpart.

Republican nominee Tom Emmer's campaign has booked nearly $800,000 worth of network television time in the Twin Cities for the final three weeks of the governor's race. That far surpasses the air time currently reserved by his two principal rivals in the gubernatorial contest.