Swandal says Bresnan failed to air campaign ads

LIVINGSTON, Mont. (AP) — The district judge who lost a race for a Montana Supreme Court seat says a cable television company failed to run his campaign ads in the weeks before November's election.

Judge Nels Swandal says his campaign had a contract with Bresnan Communications to run television advertisements in the state's larger markets.

Swandal tells the Livingston Enterprise that the ads never ran. He says they could have increased his visibility among voters, but declined to speculate whether it would have changed a significant number of votes.

Swandal lost to Helena attorney Beth Baker by 15,746 votes.

Cablevision, which bought Bresnan on Dec. 14, apologized Monday for any errors. The company reimbursed nearly $24,000 to Swandal's campaign.