This election has inspired some rather nasty turns from candidates in Minnesota: From the no-holds-barred battle between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, which stands as the most expensive senatorial race in the nation, to Michelle Bachmann's McCarthyist comments on Obama's anti-Americanism, "Minnesota nice" has taken a backseat to lying, mudslinging and rampant allegations.

The above report from Kare 11 News has exposed another bout of underhanded electioneering in the race between Republican Erik Paulsen and Democrat Ashwin Madia in Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District: In a recent TV ad for Erik Paulsen, photos of his opponent Madia have been altered to darken his skin color.

Below is Paulsen's original ad:

In typical attack ad fashion, Madia is shown as a sociopathic monster, out to feed on your tax dollars and laugh at your misfortune. But by darkening his skin, the ad is making this fear tactic racially charged. In order to depict Madia, who is of Indian-American descent, as an outsider unfit for office, the ad highlights Madia's race and uses it to differentiate him as a frightening "other". It's disheartening to see a campaign stoop to something like this.

Many Minnesotan campaign ads floating around right now are despicable, but the racist tactics used here are especially disturbing. Thank God the race is over tomorrow and this slew of dirty deeds will be off the air.