Millions of dollars continue to pour into Minnesota's 7th Congressional District ahead of the November 3 election.
As of Wednesday morning, over $9 million in outside spending on political advertisements had poured into the district according to Open Secrets as incumbent Democrat Collin Peterson looks to defend his seat from Republican challenger Michelle Fischbach.
Most of the money has been spent in advertisements against respective parties with over $4.9 million in advertising against Democrats and nearly $3.4 million spent on advertisements against Republicans.
"They're [outside groups] the ones spending the biggest chunks of money and the further removed from the candidates, the more vigorous they are in terms of the negative advertising," said Dr. David Sturrock, a political science professor at Southwest Minnesota State University.
In 2018, outside spending totaled $60,293. According to Sturrock, spending more money in MN-7 doesn't necessarily mean the votes will follow.
"You're going to do better in Chippewa County if folks know you've spent a little time and have some connection there," he said. "We haven't had many parades or county fair this year, so the candidates have had to improvise."
And when it comes to spending on advertising, it becomes a matter of deciding what market to spend in.
"More people watch Twin Cities television than say Fargo-Moorhead, Sioux Falls, or Duluth," Sturrock said. "You can't afford to spend intensively on the 7th district in the Twin Cities like a metro-based campaign would. So you have to spend it in a different way."
Sturrock adds that political ad spending often reaches a point of diminishing returns.
"At what point should you just stop spending because you just aren't going to reach anybody else? It's like herd immunity in terms of mass media broadcasting," he said. "But if you have $500,000 and you lose by 5,000 votes, your name is mud. So keep spending."
Peterson is one of 30 Democratic House members who represents a district the voted for President Donald Trump in the 2016 election.
