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National GOP launches ad campaign against Peterson

WASHINGTON - The House Republican campaign committee thinks longtime DFL U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson may be vulnerable in this year's election and has launched a $41,000 TV ad campaign against him.

The National Republican Congressional Committee's ads say that Peterson, a founder of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Coalition, has "changed" when it comes to his support of a balanced budget.

The NRCC cites Peterson's votes against a 2011 Republican budget proposed by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to show that he's no longer a fiscal conservative. Further, the ad goes on to accuse Peterson, who opposed President Obama's health care law when it went through the House, of voting to uphold Obama's "takeover of healthcare." You can see the ad here.

The ad campaign comes ahead of this weekend's 7th District Republican endorsement convention to choose a candidate to run against Peterson. Lee Byberg and State Sen. Gretchen Hoffman are both running to unseat Peterson, who defeated Byberg in 2010 by 17 percentage points.

Peterson also has a considerable financial advantage against both Republicans, with $676,000 in his campaign account, compared to $128,000 for Byberg. Hoffman, who declared her candidacy recently, has not yet filed federal campaign finance reports.