Any good Wisconsinite loves to hear the phrase, “Wisconsin is No.1!”
Except possibly in this case, when it is for the number of Senate political ads running throughout the state leading up to the election.
Wisconsin was ranked first in the country for political advertising for the increasingly competitive Senate race, with more Senate ads running in Wisconsin between Sept. 1 and Oct. 7 than any other state in the country, according to a report released this week by the Wesleyan Media Project at Wesleyan University in Connecticut.
“Given the record spending this year, one has to wonder whether the campaigns have no-limit credit cards,” Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, said in a statement. “With all of the ads showing up on their television screens, many Americans must be thinking that it is already the first week of November.”
According to the report, 18,256 Senate ads ran in Wisconsin during the five-week time period tracked in the report, passing the next runner-up, Nevada, which had 17,777 ads in the same period. Nevada is also in a close race, with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid trying to defend his seat.
Approximately 57 percent of those ads were in support of the Republican senatorial candidate, businessman Ron Johnson. Incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., was supported in 43 percent of the ads.
According to the report, the ads have been financed by reported spending habits encompassing nearly $7 million combined between the two candidates.
Johnson camp spent nearly $3.9 million during the five weeks tracked in the report, while Feingold’s campaign spent $2.9 million, according to the report.
The high numbers of political ads come as Johnson appears to be pulling ahead in the race, with 52 percent of voters saying they support the Oshkosh millionaire and 45 percent support Feingold, according to a Rasmussen poll released Tuesday.
The Senate is not the only race in Wisconsin where cash is being spent at a serious pace – many estimate the state gubernatorial race will be the most expensive in the state’s history.
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, told The Badger Herald spending for the gubernatorial race will most likely exceed the $50 million mark.
Groups such as the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign have previously attributed increased campaign spending to the controversial Citizens United Supreme Court decision, which defines money as a constitutionally protected form of free speech.
The decision allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts from their private coffers on campaign donations and political advertising.
