Tom Tiffany, the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic Governors Association are all out with new ads as spending in the race continues to climb.
According to AdImpact, more than $82.5 million in reservations have been laid down in the race between Aug. 11 and the Nov. 3 election. That includes more than $50 million backing Tiffany, a GOP congressman from Minocqua.
The spending disparity between Dem Milwaukee County Exec David Crowley and his allies has narrowed over the last two weeks. From Oct. 6 through Monday, Tiffany and his allies had $6.8 million in reservations, compared to $4.8 million by Crowley and those supporting.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Crowley and his supporters had just over $5.7 million in reservations for the week running yesterday through Monday, compared to almost $5.7 million on the GOP side.
In Tiffany’s latest ad, the narrator says he’ll deliver a 10% income tax cut for working families, return every dollar of the state’s surplus and end the 400-year property tax increase. The narrator closes the spot, “More money in your paycheck, a home you can own, a Wisconsin you can afford.”
The DGA’s new ad features a man identified as Dennis, a hops farmer from Eau Claire. He says Tiffany “blindly follows Trump 100% of the time,” voting to cut healthcare to give tax breaks to billionaires and five times to continue “Trump’s Iran war,” resulting in high prices. He closes the ad, “Tom Tiffany’s 100% loyalty agenda is to Trump, not us, and we’re getting 100% screwed.”
The RGA’s latest spot opens with an image of Crowley and Milwaukee County Board Chair Marcelia Nicholson-Bovell celebrating after a higher sales tax was approved. The narrator says instead of celebrating, Crowley should be embarrassed considering his mismanagement allowed the county’s health insurance to expire, housing costs to double and homicides to skyrocket. The narrator closes the ad, “David Crowley celebrates. You pay the price.”
Meanwhile, the conservative Restoration of America PAC is up with a new 60-second ad in the governor’s race calling Crowley “a complete and total failure” while praising Tiffany as “successful, steady, honest.” The narrator says Crowley gets an “F” on crime, taxes and management, while Tiffany will reduce taxes, be tough on crime and “use his success as a small businessman to guide him as governor.” The narrator adds, “It’s common sense vs. incompetence.”
Restoration of America PAC, which is funded by Illinois businessman Dick Uihlein, has spent more than $16 million on independent expenditures for TV, mail, phones and canvassing in the governor’s race since the primary, according to filings with the state Ethics Commission.