Our comprehensive list and schedule of all upcoming political fundraisers. | |
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In this update:
Election Updates
- State Assembly and Senate
- New ads
- U.S. President
- Walz visits MKE
- New polls
- New ad from Harris
- U.S. Senate
- New CNN poll
- Baldwin releases new ads
- 1st CD
- Steil and Barca launch ads
Federal Updates
State Updates
- Evers seeks funding for K-12 in budget
Legislative Updates
- AI Study Committee next week
Upcoming Events
- Coffee with the Candidates: Kristin Alfheim & Melissa Ratcliff
- Meet the Cabinet: DSPS Sec. Hereth
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State Assembly and Senate | |
Both sides have TV ads running in the 8th SD. | |
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The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) released an ad targeting Democratic state senate candidate Jody Habush Sinykin (D-Whitefish Bay). The ad says Madison politicians who voted to “withhold $800 million in tax relief” are now telling people to vote for Sinykin. The ad also claims she is “backed by out of touch politicians sinking our state into poverty. She’s horrible for us.”
Watch the ad here.
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New Wisconsin Majority released an ad against State Senator Duey Stroebel (R-Cedarburg) saying he was called a “terrorist by Republican leadership.” The ad also says he would ban abortion completely, and “He'd put the government in charge of women's personal health decisions. No abortion access, no privacy, no choice, no way.”
Watch the ad here.
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RLSC launches ads in the 14th and 30th SD | The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) released ads targeting Sarah Keyeski (D-Lodi) in the 14th and Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) in the 30th. | |
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Keyeski is facing state Sen. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) in the redrawn 14th SD. The narrator in the ad says prices are so high they can’t afford to eat or fill their gas tank, but Keyeski wants higher taxes.
Watch the ad here.
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The ad in the 30th SD will air on streaming services and digital. Jamie Wall will face Allouez Village President Jim Rafter (R-Allouez). The narrator of this ad says inflation is killing them with the cost of milk, eggs, and rent, and Wall wants to rollback tax cuts. The narrator adds, “Goofy politicians like Jamie Wall are really hurting our families. Vote no to him and his nonsense this November.”
Watch the ad here.
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Walz visits Milwaukee on Labor Day | |
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Democratic Vice President nominee Tim Walz stopped in Milwaukee at Laborfest to tout his organized labor credentials as well as Vice President Kamala Harris’ part in what Gov. Walz called the most pro-union U.S. administration in history. Gov. Walz said he was a dues-paying member of his teacher union. He recalled previous GOP opponents who said he was in the pocket of organized labor and said, “I said that’s a damned lie. I am the pocket. I am the pocket. And I told them if you want to attack me for standing up for collective bargaining, for fair wages, for safe working conditions, for health care and retirement, you roll the damn dice. I’ll take my chances on that. I’ll take my chances.”
He highlighted Vice President Harris’ work as California’s attorney general, saying she sued banks for mismanaging pension funds. He touted that she gave the tie-breaking vote on the American Rescue Plan Act in 2021 and the Biden-Harris administration protecting pensions for retirees. He also included his accomplishment of signing a pro-union priorities package in Minnesota.
Before Walz’s visit, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) criticized Vice President Harris’s economic plans, saying price controls would lead to economic upheaval. “Kamala Harris has proven to not understand basic economics,” Rep. Van Orden said. “Donald Trump has proven to know economics inside and out.”
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New Trafalgar Group and CNN polls | |
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Trafalgar Group and CNN released new polls this week.
The Trafalgar Group poll found former President Donald Trump slightly ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris. Among likely voters, 47.3% support former President Trump and 46.2% favored Vice President Harris, while 2.6% backed someone else and 3.8% were undecided. Trafalgar polled 1,083 likely Wisconsin voters from August 28-30 using a mix of six different methodologies to reach respondents, including live calls, auto dials, text messages, emails, digital dial back interface and online targeted opt-in digital survey platforms. The margin of error was +/- 2.9 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight rates Trafalgar 0.7 stars out of three.
CNN reported Vice President Harris with a six-point lead over former President Trump. Among likely voters, 50% favored Vice President Harris while 44% backed former President Trump. Libertarian Chase Oliver received 2% and Green Jill Stein was at 1%. CNN commissioned SSRS to conduct the poll online and by phone between August 23-29. They polled 976 registered Wisconsin voters with the results for likely voters weighed by their predicted probability of voting in the 2024 election. The margin of error was +/- 4.4 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight rates SSRS two stars out of three.
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Vice President Kamala Harris released a new TV ad. The ad focuses on the high cost of groceries and housing, and the narrator of the ad said, “corporations are gouging families, Trump is focused on giving them tax cuts. But Kamala Harris is focused on you.” This ad is her fourth since the Democratic National Convention.
Watch the ad here.
| Republican Voters Against Trump launches new ad campaign | |
Republican Voters Against Trump released a new ad campaign. The campaign will run in the Madison and Milwaukee media markets. The campaign includes a 30-second digital ad, 20 billboards, and testimonials from people who previously voted for former President Donald Trump who are now supporting Vice President Kamala Harris. Twelve of the billboards are located in the Milwaukee area, and the other eight are in the Madison area.
Watch the ad here.
Watch the testimonials here.
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CNN releases new senate polling | |
CNN released polling results for Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. The results revealed U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) leading Eric Hovde (R) 51-45. CNN commissioned SSRS to conduct the poll online and by phone between August 23-29. They polled 976 registered voters with the results for likely voters weighed by their predicted probability of voting in the 2024 election. The margin of error was +/- 4.4 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight rates SSRS two stars out of three. | |
Baldwin releases two new ads | |
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U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) released two ads this week. The first ad features Democratic law enforcement officers speaking on her efforts against fentanyl use. The officers say Sen. Baldwin works with law enforcement to combat fentanyl and works with Democratic and Republican lawmakers “to crack down on drugs coming from China and Mexico.”
Watch the ad here.
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The second ad includes Fox Valley foundry workers commending Sen. Baldwin for creating more work in Wisconsin and ensuring federally funded infrastructure projects are made with American iron and steel. In the ad, Sen. Baldwin says, “For years our government built America’s infrastructure with Chinese iron and steel. I said that’s gotta change.” The ad will run statewide.
Watch the second ad here.
| EMILY’s List releases new ad | |
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EMILY’s List launched a new ad targeting GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde on abortion. The ad is airing through Women Vote and features a clip of Hovde saying he is “totally opposed to abortion.” The ad also has women identified as doctors and nurses; Dr. Madelaine Tully says, “My patients worry about what Hovde will take away next” before a nurse closes the spot, “A vote for Eric Hovde means we’ll lose even more control over our lives.”
Watch the ad here.
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U.S. House of Representatives | |
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U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) released his first TV ad of his reelection campaign. The ad features his 100-year-old grandmother who says her grandson has “always been a hard worker.” Rep. Steil says many seniors are struggling with high prices and he’s working to protect Social Security and Medicare.
Watch the ad here.
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1st CD Democratic candidate Peter Barca (Kenosha) launched a new TV ad in the Milwaukee media market. The ad is 30-seconds and will run on broadcast and digital platforms. The ad knocks opponent U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) for his stance on abortion, claiming Rep. Steil will ban abortion “nationwide, with surveillance of pregnancies and restricting birth control and fertility treatments.”
Watch the ad here.
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President Joe Biden visited Westby, Wisconsin to announce a $7.3 billion investment in clean energy for rural America. The investment will go to 16 cooperatives to provide electricity for millions of families in rural areas across 23 states to lower the cost of connections in hard-to-reach areas. It was included in the Inflation Reduction Act which invests around $13 billion in rural electrification across multiple programs and will create 4,500 permanent jobs and 16,000 construction jobs.
“All of these investments mean family farms can stay in the family, rural entrepreneurs can build their dreams, your children and grandchildren won’t have to leave home to make a living. That’s stopping now because we’re spreading opportunities to benefit everyone,” President Biden said.
He began the visit by calling for new gun control after the shooting at a Georgia school that left four dead and nine injured. He said he knew it was unpopular to talk about gun control in rural areas, but he said, “we need more than thoughts and prayers.” He called for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, requiring safe storage of firearms in people’s homes, making background checks universal, and ending immunity for gun manufacturers.
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Budget: Evers seeking significant amount of funding for K-12 | |
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Governor Tony Evers (D) does not have an exact number but will seek a “significant amount” of funding for K-12 schools in the upcoming 2025-27 budget. He said this during a Back-to-School Tour stop news conference in Madison. During the 2023-25 budget process, he signed a $1 billion increase for the Department of Public Instruction. “Nothing has given me the idea that somehow more money isn't needed,” Gov. Evers said.
Agency budget requests are due to the Department of Administration (DOA) on September 15th and can be viewed when they are submitted at the DOA budget website here.
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Study committee on AI meets next Wednesday | |
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The 2024 Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin will hold a meeting on Wednesday, September 11th. The meeting will be held at Marathon County Courthouse in Wausau in the Assembly Room. The meeting will host a roundtable discussion recapping and developing themes from last meeting. There will also be presentations by representatives from state and local law enforcement. The hearing will stream on Wisconsin Eye.
View the agenda here.
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- Coffee with the Candidates:
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Friday, September 13th at 8:30AM: 18th Senate District candidate Kristin Alfheim (D-Appleton) virtual
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Friday, September 20th at 8:30 AM: 16th Senate District candidate Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) virtual
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September 25th at 11:30AM - Meet the Cabinet: Department of Safety and Professional Services Secretary Dan Hereth (virtual and in-person options available)
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If you would like any additional information about the above topic, or if you would like to find time to discuss the above matter in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact your Michael Best Strategies contact.
Have a great day,
Wisconsin GR Team
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One South Pickney Street, Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-257-3501
Fax: 608-283-2275
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