On the surface, Wisconsin’s Senate race looks quiet. Tammy Baldwin, our dynamite incumbent, doesn’t yet face a serious announced opponent. You might imagine you can sleep on this one.
That’s exactly what the GOP wants you to think.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has recruited two ultra-wealthy prospective Senate candidates—who have already pledged to spend $10 to $20 million of their own money on Senate campaigns.
But neither has announced yet. Why?
Challengers to incumbents typically announce their candidacies early, so that they have more time to fundraise. But if you’ve got bottomless personal wealth, there’s an advantage to waiting—and using the playbook Ron Johnson developed to beat Feingold in 2010.
In 2010, Ron Johnson didn’t announce until the actual election year had arrived. But he’d been laying the groundwork. And then he came out of the gate like a rocket, propelled by his personal fortune and lifted up by right-wing propaganda networks. He defeated WI’s incumbent Dem.
By doing that, Johnson avoided a long period of scrutiny. He avoided having to file a personal financial disclosure the year before the election. He was elected without the public quite realizing what an extremist he truly was. Ever since, he’s had the advantages of incumbency.
Now in Wisconsin, we’ve got two moneybags extremist Republicans, Scott Mayer and Eric Hovde, who are running shadow campaigns. They’ve hired consultants—people who worked for Ron Johnson. They’re traveling the state, speaking to GOP groups. But they haven’t announced.
Eric Hovde is telling supporters “money will not be an issue in his campaign.” Neither of these guys need to spend long hours doing call time, dialing for dollars. Exactly how wealthy are they? It’s likely they’re both wealthier than Ron Johnson.
We won’t have a clear sense until they file disclosure forms… but they won’t do that till they announce. But in both cases, it now appears that they’re skirting campaign finance laws and delaying a formal announcement until 2024.
The other advantage that Hovde and Mayer hope to gain by delaying their announcements? They hope to catch us asleep at the switch.
They hope the country won’t prioritize Tammy Baldwin’s reelection. But that’s one threat that we can neutralize.
The bigger Tammy Baldwin’s war chest, the more effectively she’ll be able to define her far-right challengers. We can’t wait and let the other side define the election. Can you chip in now to support Tammy Baldwin and WisDems?
A contribution now ensures that Senator Baldwin’s team has the resources to expose the truth about these guys. The more voters learn about them, the less appealing they are. They’re more interested in yachting than in voting in Wisconsin.
Tammy Baldwin’s reelection is essential to holding a Democratic majority in the Senate in 2024. Chip in just a few dollars to make sure she and WisDems have everything we need to cross the finish line in 2024. The stakes are astronomical.