In a sea of block letters, foreboding music, and laughably ominous voice overs, the rare campaign ad that’s actually good stands out. And Democratic incumbent Sen. Tammy Baldwin has a strong one on Wisconsin’s airwaves right now.
Though Baldwin’s progressive politics might make her an ideological mismatch for the increasingly red state, the senator’s campaign released an ad this month that’s probably resonating with a lot of Wisconsin voters. Launched on May 7, the 60-second spot titled “Knock” features Baldwin recalling painful memories of her mother’s drug abuse problem, hoping to build trust with constituents desperate for allies in the fight against the opioid epidemic. “I remember what it was like to come home from school and not be able to get into the house,” Baldwin says. “I’d pound on the door but my mother wouldn’t answer. She’d be passed out inside.”
The story sets her up for a powerful line towards the middle of the ad: “When I see the opioid crisis that’s wrecking so many Wisconsin families, all I can tell you is: I’ve been there,” Baldwin reassures voters.
But, of course, politics may be wrapped up in the senator’s motives — her handling of an opioid overprescription scandal at a Veterans Affairs medical center is one of Baldwin’s biggest liabilities in 2018. The senator received a VA inspector general report documenting the overprescription of opiates at a Wisconsin facility but failed to act until after information was released publicly indicating that a veteran died from an overdose at the center. Baldwin apologized for mistakes made by her office in 2015 and punished several staffers. But the matter remains extremely present for the senator, as Republicans refuse to let her off the hook.
The race’s two GOP primary candidates have both slammed Baldwin for the scandal, as have outside spending groups. The Richard Uihlein-backed Restoration PAC, which has referred to Baldwin as “Tomah Tammy,” poured nearly half a million dollars into a television ad hammering her “inaction” on the report just last week. A National Republican Senatorial Committee ad last year accused Baldwin of having “swept the problem under the rug.”
Her favorability rating appears to be underwater and moving in the wrong direction. As one of the Democratic incumbents up for re-election in a state President Trump won, Baldwin is considered to be one of the upper chamber’s most vulnerable members. She’ll need more than good TV ads to keep her seat.
