Franken, Coleman raise millions

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- A U.S. Senate race in Minnesota is expected to become one of the most expensive this election cycle, with both candidates raking in campaign cash.

Republican U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and his Democratic challenger Al Franken continue to raise lots of money, according to their end-of-year finance reports, the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press reported Monday.

Franken's campaign said he raised $1.88 million in the last three months of the year, for a

2007 total of more than $7 million. Coleman's campaign, meanwhile, said he raised $1.7 million in the last quarter of the year and had $6 million cash-on-hand.

Franken said Monday he will spend some of his campaign cash on television ads that will likely start appearing on the North Star State's airwaves within a month, the newspaper reported.

"You should start seeing our first ads on the air pretty soon," Franken said in a video to supporters. The ad, his campaign said will "be focused on introducing Al to general election voters."