Republican Mitt Romney will begin running TV ads in Minnesota this weekend, with just over a week to go before the election, the Associated Press reports. Recent polls showed President Barack Obama with a solid lead in the state that has not voted for a Republican president since Richard Nixon in 1972.

In July, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney had good news to celebrate in Minneosta: he'd cut President Obama's lead in half, according to one poll. But a new SurveyUSA/KSTP poll shows Obama is back on safe ground in the state. The poll surveyed voters Sept. 6-9, right after the Democratic National Convention.

A new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll among 800 likely Minnesota voters shows the presidential race for the state's 10 electoral votes is getting closer, with President Barack Obama drawing 47 percent to Romney's 44 percent. With just over a week before the election, the president's 3-point lead is within the poll's margin of error. In September, Obama held an 8-percentage point lead over his Republican challenger in the Minnesota Poll.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is coming to Minnesota for a fundraising appearance a few days before the Republican National Convention, MPR reports. Donors are being asked to give a minimum of $2,500 to attend an event at the Lafayette Club in Minnetonka Beach. Couples who give $50,000 can attend a private dinner at a private home in Shorewood.

GOP vice presidential hopeful Paul Ryan rallied 6,500 people at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International AIrport on Sunday, trying to steal a Minnesota win for the Romney-Ryan ticket from Democrats, who have long said the state was safe for President Obama. Meanwhile, former President Bill Clinton is expected back in Minnesota Sunday night for an appearance in St. Cloud.

If Mitt Romney is looking for a vice-presidential nominee that might also bring along votes from their home state, Tim Pawlenty might be a poor choice. So says the New York Times, which does a deep analysis on what it would actually take for Minnesota to go red in a presidential election for the first time since 1972. The key -- according to Times writer Michah Cohen -- is Blue Earth County.

Some of Rick Santorum's Minnesota supporters say they'll vote for Mitt Romney but doubt they'll volunteer time to his campaign. One feels that Romney doesn't need her help the way Santorum did. Soft support from Santorum Republicans may be more damaging to Romney in swing states than in Minnesota, which looks to be headed into the Obama column.

Vice President Joe Biden's wife, Jill Biden, is returning to Minnesota later this month. She campaigned on behalf of President Barack Obama in Minnesota in mid-September. Events aren't finalized but a Democratic official says Biden will campaign in Minneapolis and Duluth on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. It would be Jill Biden's second campaign stop in Minnesota since Labor Day.