Madison Politiscope: Democrats Finally Start Spending Big Money In Walker Recall - CapTimes [View all]

[WillyT]

Madison Politiscope: Democrats finally start spending big money in Walker recall
JACK CRAVER | The Capital Times
5 hours ago

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Evidence of major spending on behalf of Tom Barrett’s campaign is finally starting to emerge. According to records filed with the Government Accountability Board, the Greater Wisconsin Committee – an independent group financed largely by labor unions that supports Democrats – paid a marketing firm roughly $1.5 million on Saturday to develop ads attacking Walker.

If you’re watching TV in Madison, you should already be seeing the results. The Campaign Group, a Philadelphia-based political marketing company hired by GWC, just purchased $22,800 worth of ads on NBC 15 for the final week of the campaign. (I have not yet checked the records of other stations.)

Two weeks ago, however, Marty Beil, president of the Wisconsin State Employees Union (AFSCME Council 24), said he expected national labor unions to kick in major money in the final weeks of the campaign. The prediction came in the wake of complaints from state activists and state Democratic Party officials that the Democratic National Committee was not playing an active role in the recall battle.

Indeed, Democrats have been vastly outspent in the fight for the governorship, with groups such as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Republican Governors Association pouring millions of dollars into the race, with liberal groups, such as the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, barely mounting a response.

In fact, recently, Progressive Change pulled some ads the group had planned to air on NBC 15. A spokesman for the group says it was reassessing how to best allocate resources. Today, however, Progressive Change announced it had raised $88,000 over the past nine days, which it will be directing primarily towards Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts in the final days of the campaign. Due to the extremely low number of undecided voters, many strategists believe the main focus now should be turning out the party's base.

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Link: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/govt-and-politics/politiscope/madison-politiscope-democrats-finally-start-spending-big-money-in-walker/article_318f8b58-a9ab-11e1-96ef-001a4bcf887a.html