The Koch political network is rolling out another seven-figure ad campaign to boost incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s re-election bid in Wisconsin.
Americans for Prosperity on Friday announced plans to spend $1.3 million on TV and digital spots as part of a three-week effort to hit Democratic challenger Tony Evers, the state’s superintendent.
The push follows a $1.8 million campaign spearheaded by the group’s Wisconsin chapter promoting Walker’s education policy record.
Walker faces a close race to secure a third term despite three statewide wins. One of those victories includes a 2012 recall attempt triggered by reforms he made to state employees’ collective bargaining rights, which angered labor unions.
Evers has a 3.5 percentage point advantage on Walker, according to RealClearPolitics’ poll aggregator as of late Thursday.
Americans for Prosperity’s attacks on Evers will come after Walker on Thursday defended an ad put out by his own campaign. The spot called Evers’ promise to cut Wisconsin’s prison population in half “dangerous” because it risked the release of “felons who’ve committed rape, assault, robbery and even kidnapping,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
“We are proud of the positive campaign we’re running,” Walker wrote on Twitter Thursday.
We are proud of the positive campaign we’re running.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) September 13, 2018
The Koch network, overseen by industrialist billionaire Charles Koch, pledged in January to invest almost $400 million on the November elections.
