Governor Tony Evers (D-Plymouth) and his Democratic allies have the advantage when it comes to paid media spending in the final three weeks of the campaign. According to AdImpact, Democrats have $16 million reserved for paid media from now until November 8, compared to $9.2 million by Republicans. Of the $16 million in Dem spending, $6.3 million is reserved for the Milwaukee market, compared to $3.8 million by Republicans. In Green Bay, Democrats are poised to spend $3.3 million while the GOP has $1.7 million reserved. In Madison, Dems have $1.2 million reserved compared to $442,659 by Republicans.
The millions of dollars in paid media spending by the candidates and their respective political parties is buttressed by spending from independent groups. According to Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, independent groups have already spent $36.7 million on express advocacy in state legislative races and statewide races for state constitutional offices. Independent groups backing Republicans have spent $29 million compared to $7.7 million by groups supporting Dems. The top spender from the independent groups has been Right Direction Wisconsin PAC, an affiliate of the Republican Governors Association, which has spent $8.7 million to date.
