MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Sensing an opportunity in swing-state Wisconsin, Republicans are pouring money into the bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in that state’s closely watched Senate race. Democrats also have dialed up their efforts in the contest, which remains crucial to their hopes of maintaining their Senate majority. They maintain an overall spending advantage and insist that the contest was always going to tighten as Election Day nears. A loss in Wisconsin to GOP nominee Eric Hovde would make preserving Democrats’ majority extremely difficult in a national landscape in which Republicans have far fewer seats to defend this year. That prospect has Republicans feeling optimistic about the race. “It’s pretty clearly a jump ball right now,” said Republican strategist Alec Zimmerman, who worked on Sen. Ron Johnson ’s winning 2022 campaign. Democrats as of Monday have outspent Republicans on advertising in the Wisconsin Senate race, $93 million to $69 million, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign ad spending. Baldwin’s campaign accounts for more than a third of all Democratic spending on ads, while Hovde has been more dependent on outside groups. But Republicans have invested more heavily than Democrats in advertising down the stretch, with $21 million in spots reserved between Monday and Nov. 5 compared to $15 million in spots reserved by Democrats. Almost two-thirds of the new GOP spending comes from the Senate Leadership Fund, the political action committee led by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which has reserved $13.1 million in ad spots. “The momentum’s on my side,” Hovde said last week at a forum in Milwaukee. “I plan to win this race. I will win this race because I’m going to stay focused on what matters.” Baldwin, who was campaigning Monday in western Wisconsin with vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, said in a statement to The Associated Press that she’s not surprised about the state of the race. “We always knew the race was going to tighten,” Baldwin said. “That’s why I’ve been working every day to bring Wisconsinites together behind my campaign. … I’m confident that we have the strength, momentum, and message to win next month.”
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