Tammy Baldwin defiant as millions in outside money pours in against her in Senate race

Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is facing a big-money barrage.

Sensing an opening for Republicans in a state that went for Donald Trump in 2016, third-party groups have already poured millions of dollars into the race, setting it on course to be the most expensive Senate contest in state history.

Since last year, the political network financed by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch has spent more than $5 million taking on Baldwin.

And groups backed by Richard Uihlein, a Lake Forest, Ill., businessman who co-owns Pleasant Prairie-based Uline Corp., have put more than $4 million into the race. Uihlein supports Republican Kevin Nicholson.

Baldwin's response?

"These out-of-state billionaires think they own Wisconsin," she said in a statement to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "Well, they don't. Wisconsinites want a senator who works for them not special interests."

Outside money is expected to play a huge role, on both sides, in one of the marquee races of 2018. What is startling, though, is how much has come in so early, months before Republicans even pick their nominee.

Just this week, a group called Vote Vets, which supports Baldwin, committed $1 million for a TV and digital ad campaign.

Even with that money, Baldwin and her supporters are being outside by conservative groups.

Ken Goldstein, a professor of politics at the University of San Francisco, said given the political landscape, Wisconsin is one place where Republicans can go on offense early.

"I think they are relentlessly probing, relentlessly experimenting to see if anything works and what does work," he said. "I'm sure they will reassess over the summer."

Washington State University political scientist Travis Ridout, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project that tracks broadcast political advertising, said it has become increasingly common for outside groups to do the bulk of spending in Senate races.

"What we have seen in the last couple of Senate races is these outside groups weighing in on primary races," he said.

Nicholson, a Delafield businessman, and state Sen. Leah Vukmir of Brookfield, are the only announced GOP candidates. Madison businessman Eric Hovde, who finished second in the GOP Senate contest in 2012, is still mulling whether to enter the primary.

The 2012 Senate race is instructive, still the most expensive in state history at some $80 million. Baldwin defeated former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

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That year, outside groups, both liberal and conservative, spent more than $46 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Baldwin spent $15.2 million in the campaign, while Thompson spent $9.5 million. The GOP primary also saw Hovde spending $6.3 million and Mark Neumann $3.8 million.

In the current race, one analysis of TV and radio ads shows $10.4 million will have been spent by mid-August. And more is sure to be added, especially when the Nicholson and Vukmir campaigns go on air closer to the Aug. 14 primary.

During this cycle so far, the Baldwin campaign is the only one to air its own ads, spending around $300,000.

With this week's buy from the veterans group, more than $4 million in ads from outside groups have also been bought in support of Baldwin. That includes a previous $1.4 million from Vote Vets Action and $875,000 from Senate Majority PAC. That group is allied with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Meanwhile, more than $9 money is surging in from conservative groups connected to the Koch network and Uihlein.

Groups affiliated with the Koch brothers have spent big to hit Baldwin, including more than $3.1 million spent by Concerned Veterans for America for TV and digital advertising, and $1.6 million on a TV and digital campaign by Freedom Partners Chamber.

Last year, another Koch group, Americans for Prosperity, spent $861,000 on an ad buy urging Baldwin to support the GOP tax plan.

“We want to help all Americans improve their lives, especially the least fortunate, and despite Tammy Baldwin’s campaign promises, the policies she supports make life harder for Wisconsin families and businesses," said James Davis, a spokesman for the Koch network.

"Wisconsin is home to many of our most active and engaged grass-roots volunteers with a proven track record of delivering positive social change," he added. "Tammy Baldwin has a track record of pushing top-down, big-government policies that hurt her constituents, and we are uniquely positioned to hold her accountable.”

Uihlein's money has been used for ads in support of Nicholson and also against Baldwin. Uihlein-connected groups in this race include Americas PAC, Restoration PAC, Solutions for Wisconsin, and the John Bolton Super PAC.

Since the beginning of 2017, Uihlein has given $5 million to the national Club for Growth Action, whose super PAC is supporting Nicholson, including by running digital ads. The group has also attacked Vukmir. Club for Growth Action also backs other candidates that Uihlein supports.

Also set to get involved in the race is Wisconsin Next PAC, which had $1 million on hand at the beginning of the year and received key funding from Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks.

The group will go on air Monday with a six-figure radio ad buy in support of Vukmir, touting her as a conservative allied with Gov. Scott Walker.