Our comprehensive list and schedule of all upcoming political fundraisers. | |
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In this update:
Legislative Updates
- Regulation of AI study committee
Election Updates
- Candidates release new ads
- Harris and Walz visit Wisconsin
- New polling
Administration Updates
- WI ends fiscal year with positive balance
Upcoming Events
- Coffee with the Candidates: Rob Kreibich
- Pre-Election and Post-Election Updates
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Regulation of AI study committee | |
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The 2024 Legislative Council Study Committee on the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Wisconsin held a meeting at University of Wisconsin-Stout this week. The meeting began with a tour and remarks from the Chancellor of UW-Stout Katherine Frank. She highlighted how AI is integrated into UW-Stout’s campus and education. They are advancing AI literacy and curriculum integration and hosting a learning speaker series with AI industry leaders.
At the meeting, Legislative Council walked through new memos beginning with Memo #3, which discusses how AI is regulated or being proposed to be regulated in California, Colorado, and Connecticut. Memo #4 provides an overview of AI disclosure and requirements to obtain informed consent for health care. Memo #5 looks at state procurement of IT and the options that are available for the committee. Lastly, Legislative Council provided a memo to the chair which finalizes all of the recommendations that the committee can consider on the regulation of AI in Wisconsin based off of the committee’s work throughout the last several months.
The final meeting of the Regulation of AI study committee will be December 5th in Room 411 South in the State Capitol where they will present their final recommendations.
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State Assembly and Senate | |
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State Sen. Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) released an ad on broadcast and cable targeting his opponent Stacey Klein on abortion. The narrator in the ad claims Ms. Klein supports a law from 1849 that would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest or to save the mother. “Don’t let Klein take us back to 1849,” the narrator says.
Watch the ad here.
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Alfheim releases a new ad | |
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18th Senate district candidate Kristin Alfheim (D-Appleton) launched a new ad on broadcast and cable targeting her opponent, Dr. Anthony Phillips, on abortion. The narrator of the ad says a woman and her doctor should make the decision to have an abortion, but “Anthony Phillips wants Madison making that choice for us, a total ban on abortions, no exceptions. That’s Anthony Phillips.”
Watch the ad here.
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Forward Majority Action releases new ad | |
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Forward Majority Action released a new ad calling out the ads against 14th Senate district candidate Sarah Keyeski as “misleading.” The narrator says Keyeski is “a farmer's daughter who values hard work, a mom of six who watches every dollar, a small business owner with an eye on the bottom line, a civic leader who helped revitalize downtown Lodi, and an advocate for our communities who respects our tax dollars and puts working families first.”
Watch the ad here.
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Restoration PAC launches ad | |
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Restoration PAC released their first TV ad in the 18th Senate district against Kristin Alfheim (D-Appleton). In the ad the narrator says Appleton taxes are up over $5 million, and those higher taxes “are going right into Alfheim’s pocket” after she voted to give herself and the City Council the largest pay raise in the last 20 years.
Watch the ad here.
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Vice President Kamala Harris visited Milwaukee, La Crosse, and Green Bay on Thursday. She first stopped at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee before heading to La Crosse where she and billionaire Mark Cuban visited a business class to discuss “entrepreneurship and economic policy.”
Vice President Harris also held a rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse with Cuban. At the event, she said former President Donald Trump was gaslighting Americans when he called the January 6th Capitol attack a “day of love.” Vice President Harris said, “It was a day of terrible violence. There were attacks on law enforcement, 140 law enforcement officers were injured, some were killed. And what did Donald Trump say last night about Jan. 6? He called it a, quote, a day of love. But it points out something that everyone here knows — the American people are exhausted with his gaslighting.” Vice President Harris discussed her plans to reduce housing costs by providing $25,000 down payment assistance grants to first-time homeowners. “There was a time that generations of Americans could count on the American dream, but for far too many these days it is just out of reach,” she said.
Vice President Harris finished the day in Green Bay where she was critical of former President Donald Trump’s comment that he’s the “father of IVF.” She said he is putting the availability of those treatments at risk after appointing Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade. “When you listen to Donald Trump talk, it becomes increasingly clear, I think,” Vice President Harris said. “He has no idea what he's talking about, when it comes to the health care of women in America.” She also knocked former President Trump's intentions to cut federal aid programs and said he would cut Social Security and Medicare as well as end the Affordable Care Act. “We are not going back because, just like Wisconsin’s state motto tells us, we will move forward,” she said.
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Democratic Vice President nominee Tim Walz visited Green Bay and Eau Claire on Monday. During the rally in Green Bay, Gov. Walz was critical of former President Donald Trump for saying the military should be used to combat the “enemy from within” if there was chaos on Election Day. “The idea of sending U.S. military personnel against American citizens makes me sick to my stomach,” Gov. Walz said. “I’ll tell you what, we’ll let the lawyers decide if what he said was treason, but what I know is it’s a call for violence, plain and simple, and it’s pretty damn un-American if you ask me.”
Gov. Walz also knocked former President Trump’s labor and economic policies, naming the current administration the “most pro-labor administration in America’s history.” He continued, “Today more factories are being built, more American energy is being produced than on any given day when Donald Trump was president.”
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U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) and her challenger Eric Hovde (R) will debate Friday night for the first and only time in the race. The Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation will host the debate, and it will air at 7:00pm.
Watch the debate here.
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Baldwin and Hovde files finance reports | |
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U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) and opponent Eric Hovde (R) filed their finance reports this week for the third quarter to the Federal Elections Commission. Mr. Hovde contributed an additional $7 million of his personal money into his campaign, bringing his total personal contribution to $20 million so far. His total raised was $11.2 million with $3 million from individuals between July 25-September 30, while Sen. Baldwin raised $11 million with $9.4 million from individuals. The reports Wisconsin candidates filed on Tuesday did not include activity for the entire three-month period.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D)
Raised: $11,002,964.69
Spent: $12,142,961.89
Cash on hand: $5,209,806.49
Eric Hovde (R)
Raised: $11,234,256.02
Spent: $8,643,758.09
Cash on hand: $5,709,362.15
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U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) released another TV ad claiming her opponent Eric Hovde (R) has a “problem with the truth.” The ad is a response to the ads from Mr. Hovde and those backing him regarding Sen. Baldwin and transgender issues. The screen has headlines, reading “No, Tammy Baldwin didn’t give funding to a ‘transgender-affirming clinic,’” and “Hovde falsely claimed Baldwin supported ‘sex change surgeries’ on minors,” the narrator calls him a “desperate candidate, willing to say anything.” The ad closes, “Eric Hovde’s lying. And he’s not for us.”
Watch the ad here.
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GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde launched a new ad declaring U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) is a “38-year career politician,” while he is a “businessman and job creator.” In the ad he says Sen. Baldwin wants taxpayer benefits for illegal immigrants, but he will secure the border. “Tammy wants to put guys in girls sports and in their bathrooms. I'll protect our daughters,” Hovde says and adds “Baldwin abuses the political system” while he’ll “fight the corruption.”
Watch the ad here.
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The National Republican Senatorial Committee and GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde released two joint ads. The first new joint ad targets U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D) and Vice President Kamala Harris on their immigration and Social Security policies. The ad comes in response to an ad from Sen. Baldwin opposing Mr. Hovde for past comments on raising the retirement age for Social Security. The narrator says “illegal immigrants” will bankrupt Social Security and Medicare, and Sen. Baldwin “supports making illegals eligible for free benefits and voted for higher taxes on Social Security. Now she's lying about Eric Hovde again. The truth? Eric Hovde will always protect Social Security.”
Watch the ad here.
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The second NRSC and Hovde ad features Hovde saying he opposes a national abortion ban. The ad follows Sen. Baldwin repeatedly highlighting Hovde’s previous comments on supporting overturning Roe v. Wade. The ad says Democrats have been a “disaster” with higher prices and open borders. They can’t defend their record, so they lie about abortion. Hovde then says to the camera that he opposes a national abortion ban “early in a pregnancy,” and women should have the “right to decide.” He finishes the ad saying, “the people of Wisconsin need to decide this issue, not politicians in Washington.”
Watch the ad here.
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WinSenate releases new ads | |
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WinSenate launched new ads in the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race. The first new ad targets Eric Hovde (R) over outsourcing. In the ad, an ironworker in Wisconsin says Mr. Hovde is an “outsourcer” and records show he’s invested millions in corporations that “laid off Wisconsin workers.” The ironworker closes the ad saying, “Now he wants tax breaks for investors like himself for companies that move jobs to Mexico, and that's all wrong for Wisconsin.”
Watch the ad here.
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The other ad calls Hovde a California banker who is running for the Senate in Wisconsin. The narrator of the ad says you know a politician's not from around here when they call for a ban on beer sales. The ad continues, saying Hovde is “A millionaire politician who doesn't just lower the bar. Hovde would close it,” and adds he is “too out of touch and too out of state.”
Watch the ad here.
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Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin launch new ad | |
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin released an ad targeting GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde for opposing abortion. The ad is running statewide on connected TV and digital. The narrator says with Roe v. Wade overturned, it paves the way for states to “outlaw fertility treatments, to ban birth control, and to track women who are pregnant and punish them if they have an abortion.”
Watch the ad here.
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Senate Leadership Fund release new ad | |
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Senate Leadership Fund released another ad opposing U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D) on transgender issues. The ads are similar to previous ads, saying she supports domestic violence shelters to admit biological men who identify as women and supported sex change surgeries for minor children. The ad also says Sen. Baldwin voted to give nearly $1 billion in COVID checks to criminals in prison, “including the Boston marathon bomber.”
Watch the ad here.
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U.S. House of Representatives | |
Steil and Barca file finance reports | |
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U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) has more cash on hand than his opponent Peter Barca (D-Kenosha). However, Mr. Barca outraised Rep. Steil this quarter. Mr. Barca raised $910,922 in receipts and spent nearly $1.5 million, leaving him with $98,031 in the bank. U.S. Rep. Steil raised $849,230, spent $2.4 million, and has almost $3.2 million cash on hand.
U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville)
Raised: $849,230.49
Spent: $2,399,614.67
Cash on hand: $3,176,147.02
Peter Barca (D-Kenosha)
Raised: $910,922.45
Spent: $1,467,429.86
Cash on hand: $98,030.78
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Congressional Leadership Fund poll finds Steil ahead of Barca | |
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Congressional Leadership Fund released poll results showing U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil (R-Janesville) leading in the 1st Congressional Race against Peter Barca (D-Kenosha). According to the poll, 52% of likely voters backed Rep. Steil, and 42% supported Mr. Barca. Meanwhile, the poll found that 41% viewed Rep. Steil favorably while 34% viewed him unfavorably. Mr. Barca’s split was 27% favorable and 29% unfavorable. The poll also found that in the 1st CD, former President Donald Trump is backed by 49% of likely voters, while 45% supported Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Congressional Leadership Fund commissioned WPA Intelligence to poll 411 likely 1st CD voters from October 8-10 by live callers contacting respondents via cell phones and landlines, and some respondents were asked through text message to complete the survey online. The margin of error was +/- 4.8 percentage points. FiveThirtyEight rates WPA Intelligence 1.7 stars out of three.
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Cooke outraises Van Orden | |
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Rebecca Cooke (D-Eau Claire) outraised her incumbent opponent U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) in the latest finance report. She reported $2.6 million raised this quarter, while U.S. Rep. Van Orden raised $1.4 million. He has more cash on hand, reporting $1.7 million in the bank. Ms. Cooke reported $659,750 cash on hand.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien)
Raised: $1,393,223.38
Spent: $2,120,177.43
Cash on hand: $1,741,415.58
Rebecca Cooke (D-Eau Claire)
Raised: $2,591,764.69
Spent: $2,522,577.29
Cash on hand: $659,750.26
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Van Orden launches new ad | |
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U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s (R-Prairie du Chien) campaign is up with a new ad claiming opponent Rebecca Cooke (D-Eau Claire) is a “political operative” who has worked for “defund the police radicals.” The ad features law enforcement with one officer saying Ms. Cooke “spent millions getting Mandela Barnes elected,” and calling him “the most anti-law enforcement candidate in Wisconsin’s history.”
Watch the ad here.
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3rd Congressional District candidate Rebecca Cooke (D-Eau Claire) released two new ads targeting U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien). The first ad is critical of U.S. Rep. Van Orden for his temperament and support of a total abortion ban. In the ad, Ms. Cooke says she’s running for Congress “because I’m tired of politicians who look down on people who work for a living,” and adds U.S. Rep. Van Orden “supports a total abortion ban, even if a woman has been raped or her life is on the line.” The ad will run on broadcast, streaming and digital.
Watch the ad here.
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The second ad was paid for by her campaign and the Wisconsin Democratic Party. The narrator of the ad says U.S. Rep. Van Orden is “in trouble and the special interests are bailing him out” and names American Bankers Association PAC and Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers with their Washington, D.C. addresses. The narrator says, “Big banks, insurance companies, drug companies. Because Washington insiders want to restrict health care access and let insurers deny people with preexisting conditions. Millions would lose coverage. Wisconsin's fed up with Van Orden and Washington insiders, we want leaders who will fight for us.”
Watch the ad here.
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Strategic Majority PAC releases new ad | |
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Strategic Majority PAC launched a TV ad opposing Rebecca Cooke (D-Eau Claire) and claiming she is a “political operative.” The ad ties her to U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) saying, “Cooke supported radicals pushing open borders, defunding police and ending cash bail. No wonder New York radical AOC is spending big money to elect phonies like Cooke. Rebecca Cooke: liberal recipe for disaster.”
Watch the ad here.
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Your Community PAC airs new TV ad | |
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Your Community PAC, a Delaware-based group, launched a new TV ad claiming U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Prairie du Chien) “thinks he’s better than us.” The narrator says “it's no surprise Derrick Van Orden would cut Social Security and Medicare and give more tax cuts to corporations and the wealthy. We earned those benefits with every paycheck, but Derrick Van Orden thinks he's better than us.”
Watch the ad here.
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DOA announces WI ends fiscal year with $4.6B positive balance | |
 |  | Governor Tony Evers (D) and the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) announced the state ended fiscal year 2024 with a $4.6 billion positive balance. They also reported that the ‘rainy day’ fund increased to $1.9 billion, a record high. “This is great news for our state and our state’s economy—we continue to be in one of the best fiscal positions in state history, and that’s a testament to hard-working folks in every corner of Wisconsin. As I begin to prepare our state’s next biennial budget, this news comes at a critical time as we have needs that have long been neglected—stabilizing our child care industry, investing in public education at every level, and addressing rising costs for working families—that must be a top priority for us in this budget,” said Gov. Evers. Republicans reacted differently to the news from DOA with Senate President Chris Kapenga (R-Pewaukee) posting to X “There's nothing prudent about hoarding our tax dollars to build bigger, more powerful government while Wisconsinites struggle to pay for groceries and housing. [Gov. Evers] needs to stop vetoing Republican income tax cuts and robbing Wisconsin taxpayers of the American dream. This money belongs back in our bank accounts, not the state's.”
View the full FY 2024 Fiscal Report here.
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Coffee with the Candidates:
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Friday, October 25th at 8:30 AM: 28th Assembly District candidate Rob Kreibich (R-New Richmond) virtual
October 29th at 11:00 AM - Pre-Election Briefing with the MBS Wisconsin Team virtual
November 8th at 8:30 AM - Post-Election Update with the MBS D.C. Team virtual
RSVP to Barb Stevenson at Barb.Stevenson@michaelbest.com if you'd like to attend these events
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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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