With Wisconsin’s midterm election just four days away, the race for governor has seen candidates spend more than $166 million on their campaigns, making it the most expensive race for governor in state history, according to a review by Wispolitics.
Fact-Checking the Flood of Ads
As mailboxes, phones, and television screens fill with final appeals, Wisconsin Watch and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel have teamed up to examine the factual claims underpinning these attack ads. Tom Kircher, a reporter with Wisconsin Watch, explained that his newsroom produces concise 150-word fact briefs backed by up to ten sourced footnotes to help voters cut through the political noise.
One prominent line of attack targets Tom Tiffany, with ads claiming he has sold out Wisconsin to billionaire donors. Wisconsin Watch examined Tiffany’s campaign contributions from July through September and found that more than 90 percent of that funding can be traced to three billionaires. While individual contribution limits apply, these donors gave money to the Republican Party of Wisconsin, which faces no such limits, and the party in turn contributes to Tiffany’s campaign.
Another major battleground involves David Crowley, who has faced persistent scrutiny over taxation since being sworn in as Milwaukee County executive in May of 2020. Attack ads claim Crowley nearly doubled sales taxes and raised property taxes five times. Wisconsin Watch verified that property taxes have increased every year of Crowley’s tenure except one—the year he signed the law that nearly doubled the county sales tax. However, the analysis adds crucial context: property taxes under Crowley have generally increased less than the state average.
Voting Records and Prison Population Claims
Campaign messaging has similarly focused on federal alignments and criminal justice policies. Pro-Crowley advertisements claim Tiffany votes with Donald Trump the vast majority of the time. Reviewing both congressional votes and stated positions, Wisconsin Watch found that Tiffany has been aligned with Trump more than 90 percent of the time across multiple measures.
Meanwhile, opponents have attempted to paint Crowley as soft on crime, alleging he supports releasing half of Wisconsin’s prison population. Kircher clarified that this claim misrepresents Crowley’s record. While Crowley stated support years ago for a goal to reduce the prison population by half over time through policies such as preventing more crimes, the approach does not involve mass inmate releases.
Debating Data Center Development Across Wisconsin
Data center development has emerged as a contentious local issue across Wisconsin. Tom Tiffany’s campaign has labeled his opponent “Data Center David,” while Democrat-backed groups accuse Tiffany of voting to give data center operators billions in tax breaks through a budget resolution.
Kircher noted that both candidates initially spoke positively about data centers as economic development.
