Patrick Marley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - A Democratic group new to Wisconsin says it plans to spend $1 million in heavily Republican districts that have been on no one else’s radar.

Democrats are welcoming the spending against Republicans, but many of them are questioning whether the effort is a waste of money that could be better spent on more viable targets.

Among those the group Forward Majority is going after is Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). He won his last election, in 2014, with 63% of the vote.

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Wisconsin Democrats for months have been focused on races where the numbers are much better in the hope of taking over the Senate. Forward Majority is playing by a different set of rules.

“Our goal and mission as an organization is to come in and expand the map,” said Ben Wexler-Waite, a spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based group. “We see it as important that someone come in and give these Democrats a fighting chance.”

Alec Zimmerman, a spokesman for the state Republican Party, said the effort shows Democrats are committed to spending as much as they can to try to get control of state government.

“This just confirms what Republicans have been saying all along — outside money from liberal special interests is pouring into Wisconsin to undo Republican reforms and take Wisconsin backward," he said by email.

Some Wisconsin Democrats are skeptical of Forward Majority's plans.

"I wish they were spending their money in races that could be won," said one Democratic activist who asked not to be named.

But another called the effort a positive development, even if all the ads do is give the Republican leader a scare that could distract him.

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Republicans control the Senate 18-15. Democrats would need to net two seats to take control of the chamber.

Forward Majority was formed in 2017 and focused on state legislative races in Virginia that year.

In addition to Fitzgerald, the group’s Wisconsin targets are Sens. Devin LeMahieu of Oostburg, Jerry Petrowski of Marathon and Van Wanggaard of Racine. Forward Majority is also running positive spots about their opponents.

The four Republicans won their 2014 races with 60 percent of the vote or more.

“I feel pretty good,” LeMahieu said of his race this time.

More targets could be added before the Nov. 6 election as part of the group's $1 million effort in Wisconsin, said Wexler-Waite.

The digital ad focused on Fitzgerald criticizes him for attempting to block a vote in 2014 on a broadly popular bill to require insurers to cover oral chemotherapy. The ads against the others hammer them for their support for a $4 billion incentive package for Foxconn Technology Group.

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Another group, Acronym, is targeting more traditional races with $800,000 in spots touting six Democrats running for the Senate. The decision to run positive spots about Democrats — rather than negative ones attacking Republicans — was deliberate, said Tara McGowan, the group's founder.

"One reason people don't vote full ballots is because they don't know who (the candidates) are," she said. "We would love to encourage more people to vote their full ballots and arm them with the information they need."

Among the candidates the group is promoting are Julie Henszey, who is running against state Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) for a seat in the Senate; Lee Snodgrass, who is challenging Senate President Roger Roth (R-Appleton); and Kriss Marion, who is taking on Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green).

Like Forward Majority, Acronym was formed after the 2016 election and first focused on the 2017 elections in Virginia. The group is dedicated to putting legislative chambers in the hands of Democrats ahead of 2021, when lawmakers in most states will be responsible for drawing new legislative and congressional districts.

While the two groups are taking different strategies, McGowan said she appreciated that Forward Majority was trying to make more races competitive.