Parties Spending $4.5 Million on AG Race

Josh Kaul and Brad Schimel.

Two partisan groups say they plan to sponsor a combined $4.5 million in electioneering activities in Wisconsin’s race for attorney general this November.

The Republican Attorneys General Association announced plans for a $2.5 million advertising buy to support GOP Attorney General Brad Schimel, who is running for a second four-year term.

Its counterpart, the Democratic Attorneys General Association, also announced plans earlier this month to spend $2 million to support Democratic attorney general candidate Josh Kaul.

A review of television ad buys as of Thursday by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign found that the Democratic group had reserved about $1 million in TV time in the two weeks leading up to the Nov. 6 general election. There was no sign yet of television ad buys by the Republican group.

In the last attorney general contest in 2014 outside groups spent an estimated $3.7 million.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks outside electioneering group activities and spending through its Hijacking Campaign 2018 feature, will have more information about all of the groups and their activities in the coming weeks.