{mosads}“The investment is described as a small buy that Democrats suggest is simply intended to generate media coverage and force President Barack Obama’s campaign to invest there as well,” the AP said.

Minnesota appears to be safely in Obama’s column at this point. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls, he leads there by more than 7 percentage points, although polling is sparse because few believe it to be up for grabs.

Obama defeated Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in Minnesota in 2008 by 10 points, and the state last went for the Republican presidential candidate in 1972.

Both campaigns say momentum is on their side and that the polls are leaning in their favor, and flush with cash, the Romney campaign can afford to make ad buys aimed at expanding the Electoral College map.

While Democrats have modest majorities in Minnesota and Oregon, and Republicans have them in Arizona and Montana, the election is likely to be decided in the true toss-up states of Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Ohio, Florida, New Hampshire and Virginia.