MINNEAPOLIS — The TV ads tell the Amy Klobuchar story, and look a lot like something you'd expect from her presidential campaign.
But they're not Amy for America ads. They're produced and paid for by a new pro-Klobuchar political action committee, the Kitchen Table Conversations super PAC.
The group's online home page has an embedded YouTube player running a pro-Klobuchar ad entitled "Sacred" -- the same ad that begins airing Tuesday in Nevada ahead of that's state's precinct caucuses.
The spot details Sen. Amy Klobuchar's battle to extend standard maternity ward stays to 48 hours after a child is born, which stemmed from her own experience of being moved out of the hospital 24 hours after her daughter Abigail was born with a condition that kept her from swallowing.
According to the paperwork filed with the Federal Election Commission, the main contact is political strategist Richard Carlbom of Minnesota. He managed the successful Vote No campaign in 2012 that defeated a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He also ran Dean Phillips' winning campaign for Congress in 2018.
Carlbom was traveling Monday and unavailable for comment.
Election finance law expert David Schultz said it's not uncommon for super PACs to form to support candidates for president and other high-profile federal offices.
"Most candidates for federal office wind up having super PACs and PACs working on their behalf, so they can have money spent for them that doesn’t end run around the contribution limits," Schultz explained.
Super PACs can combine money from individuals, corporations, unions and other organizations to channel directly to candidate campaigns or to run ads that promote candidates.
"Corporations may not directly give to candidates; it violates the federal law," Schultz told KARE.
"On the other hand, were a PAC to say take money from corporations, labor union and individuals to spend on behalf of the candidate they can do just that."
Klobuchar's campaign says it has netted $12 million in new donations since her surprising third place finish in the New Hampshire Democratic primary. Exactly where that money came from most likely won't be made public until April, when first quarter campaign finance reports are due.
The same goes for the Kitchen Table Conversations super PAC. Its list of donors won't have to be revealed until April, under federal election finance laws.
