MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Democrats plan to spend $7 million on television ads in five state Senate races they believe will be key to regaining control of the House, the largest such advertising buy Democrats in the state have ever made in legislative races.
Wisconsin, a perennial swing state, is no stranger to big spending on high-profile races. But the money typically goes to top state races, not legislative races, where Republicans have held a strong majority for more than a decade.
For example, this ad buy represents nearly half the money Democrats spent in the 2022 cycle on all Senate and Assembly legislative races. That year, legislative candidates and outside groups spent a total of just over $41 million on legislative races, $17 million of which came from Democrats, according to a tally by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
By comparison, Democrats and their allies spent nearly $88 million on the 2022 Wisconsin governor’s race, part of the record $164 million spent on the race won by Democrat Tony Evers.
“It speaks to the enthusiasm we have and the confidence we have in our candidates,” said Andrew Whitley, executive director of the State Senate Democratic Committee.
The purchase will target races in the northern suburbs of Milwaukee, rural areas north of Madison, the Fox Cities, Green Bay and La Crosse.
Republicans currently hold a 22-10 supermajority in the 33-seat Senate, but Democrats hope the new district lines Gov. Tony Evers signed in February will help them cut into the GOP’s advantage.
Sixteen Senate seats will be won in November, including eight currently held by Republicans and four open seats. Four Democrats are not running for re-election this cycle; That means Democrats need to win 13 seats in November to gain a majority. In a sign of how the new maps have energized the party, Democrats put a candidate on the ballot in each Senate race for the first time in more than 20 years.
Democrats plan to run ads in the 8th Senate District, which includes the conservative northern suburbs of Milwaukee. The new maps moved Republican Senator Duey Stroebel out of his old district and placed him in the 8th, where he will face Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin.
Ads are also available in the redrawn 14th District, which covers parts of Columbia, Marquette, Green Lake and Waupaca counties. Democrat Sarah Keyeski is running there against GOP incumbent Joan Ballweg.
The committee will also target the 18th District, which now runs from Appleton south to Oshkosh, along the western shore of Lake Winnebago. The seat is open, with Democrats Kristin Alfheim and Joseph Carmen and Republicans Anthony Phillips and Blong Yang running.
Announcements are also scheduled for the 30th District. This district covers the western shore of Green Bay, from the city of Green Bay north to Marinette. The seat is open. Democrat Jamie Wall and Republican Jim Rafter are running.
The latest district in the committee’s ad buy is the 32nd in western Wisconsin, where Republican Stacey Klein seeks to unseat incumbent Democrat Brad Pfaff.
Whitley said Democrats picked those districts because President Joe Biden and Gov. Tony Evers won them in 2020 and 2022, respectively, suggesting Democratic legislative candidates have a good chance of succeeding in them. The ads will be tailored to each district’s issues and will begin running after the Aug. 13 Wisconsin primary, he said.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu said voters will see the ads as yet another attempt by liberals to buy control of government institutions.
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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.
