Wisconsin Republican Eric Hovde’s Senate campaign started running the 30-second ad on television stations in Madison, Wis., this week, at a cost of $30,000 so far, according to AdImpact.
Here we will introduce you to this ad, its accuracy and important points.
on the screen
The ad opens with an image of Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who appears to be screaming, and Maria Brisbane, a woman a female narrator describes as Mr. Baldwin’s “life partner.” The two women appear side by side in matching turquoise suits with the city skyline in the background. The music has a raucous big band swing, as if the two women were out on the town.
The ad zooms in on Ms. Brisbane’s LinkedIn profile, with the headline identifying her as a private wealth advisor to “ultra-high net worth individuals and private equity.” Images of New York City flash by, including the East River, hot dogs galore and Wall Street subway platforms, as well as a close-up of Baldwin and Brisbane’s first photo. Money rains from the sky between two women, with an aerial view of the Chrysler Building and Empire State Building in the background.
A headline blared that Ms. Baldwin “received more than $1.3 million from New York donors,” a photo of Ms. Baldwin hung in front of Times Square, and another headline that said she was “no longer a senator from Wisconsin.” ‘ was declared. Instead, it concludes that she is “the third senator from New York.” He is pictured wearing an “I Love New York” T-shirt and looking angry as the wind blows around him.
script
narrator
“This is Sen. Tammy Baldwin. This is her life partner, Maria Brisbane. She’s a Wall Street executive who advises the super-wealthy on how to make big bucks in the industry that Tammy regulates. She’s making a lot of money. Tammy rarely goes home to Wisconsin. She wants to live in Maria’s $7 million condo in New York. That’s why New Yorkers gave her more than $1.3 million. Tammy Baldwin is no longer a senator from Wisconsin, but only the third senator from New York.
accuracy
Republican political operatives have been pushing for months on one of the ad’s claims, that Baldwin is using his position as a senator to enrich his girlfriend, a violation of ethics rules. However, little success has been achieved. Reason: There is no evidence. Ms. Baldwin, who does not hold a seat on the Senate Banking or Finance Committees, has limited ability to regulate the industry, and her campaign says her opponents have no evidence that she supported Mr. Brisbane. claims.
Furthermore, Mr. Baldwin and Mr. Brisbane are not married or domestic partners in any formal legal sense that would require financial disclosure. Mr. Baldwin, who is gay, has not referred to Mr. Brisbane as his “life partner,” but his gay camp says they have been together for several years.
takeout
This ad is still in its infancy, but could be the final straw in an extremely negative campaign.
The film shines a spotlight on Baldwin’s personal life in an attempt to transform the humble Midwesterner into a celebrated East Coast elitist. And it also seeks to reverse one of Democrats’ most effective criticisms of Mr. Hovde, the extremely wealthy chairman and chief executive of a Utah bank.
He has been in hot water for much of the year because of his $7 million mansion in Laguna Beach, Calif., and his tenuous ties to the state he hopes to represent in the Senate. Hovde is ending her campaign by calling Baldwin a wealthy Wall Street lesbian, hoping that both her sexuality and her partner’s wealth will give some voters pause.
Baldwin was first elected as a Pioneer in 2012 and became the first openly gay senator, but Wisconsinites have sent her back to Washington again and again.
