Wednesday, February 20, 2008
5:11 PM
Supreme Court race heats up with TV ad
The liberal-leaning Greater Wisconsin Committee today fired the first shot on TV in this spring's Supreme Court race with an negative ad suggesting challenger Michael Gableman used a campaign donation to win an appointment to the county bench from former Gov. Scott McCallum.
Meanwhile, the conservative-leaning Wisconsin Club for Growth has reserved TV time for a buy to begin tomorrow.
According to records WisPolitics checked at the four network affiliates in Milwaukee, the GWC buy is for $186,615. It began today and runs through March 4.
A spokeswoman for the group didn't return calls from WisPolitics today.
The spot begins by saying Burnett County needed a judge and a panel recommended local district attorneys for the position. It noted Gableman wasn't picked by the panel, lived more than 290 miles away and missed the application deadline for the appointment. It then claims Gableman held a fundraiser for McCallum a few weeks before the appointment was announced and donated $1,250 to the former governor as well.
"Tell Michael Gableman we need higher ethical standards for our judges," the spot ends.
The CFG buy on the Milwaukee affiliates is for $103,325 and runs Thursday through March 2, according to records WisPolitics checked. A spokesman for the group declined to detail the buy today.
-- By David Wise and JR Ross
Labels: 2008 spring election