In the eight weeks since the August primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany and his allies have outspent Dem David Crowley and his backers more than 2.5-to-1 on ads and turnout efforts, according to a WisPolitics review.
The tally of independent expenditure filings and AdImpact data shows Tiffany and his backers have spent $54.8 million compared to the $21.6 million by Crowley and those boosting his campaign.
The disparity has been driven by the large donors backing Tiffany.
He’s spent nearly $19 million on paid media since Aug. 11 with a series of transfers from the state GOP after it received seven-figure checks from Diane Hendricks, Liz Uihlein and Dick Uihlein.
Meanwhile, the Dick Uihlein-backed Restoration of American PAC has reported $14.7 million in independent expenditures to the state for TV, digital ads, canvassing and a texting campaign. And First Amendment LLC has reported spending $9.3 million on a field campaign, phone calls and digital ads. A spokesman last month told WisPolitics the group is funded entirely by Scott Banister, a libertarian who was an early investor in PayPal, Uber and SpaceX.
The biggest spender on Crowley’s behalf over the eight-week period was Protect Our Wisconsin. The affiliate of the Democratic Governors Association has spent nearly $9.9 million on ads since the primary, according to AdImpact. Crowley’s campaign has spent just shy of $7 million.
To compile the numbers, WisPolitics-State Affairs reviewed independent expenditure filings with the state Ethics Commission since the Aug. 11 primary, along with ad buys tracked by AdImpact.
The $76 million-plus total on both sides doesn’t include what was dropped before the Aug. 11 primary in which Crowley topped state Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, for the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Four years ago, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign tracked a record $164.3 million spent for the full campaign as Dem Tony Evers beat Republican Tim Michels for his second term as governor.