TV ad digest: A slew of Democratic ads on crime

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It's not just Republicans making crime and police funding key issues in their campaigns.

A spate of new ads from major Democratic campaigns and groups show how the party is trying to defang Republican attacks on their relationship with law enforcement — and, in some cases, turn them back around.

In Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers released an ad pushing back on claims that he had defunded law enforcement, with local sheriffs calling them “badly exaggerated.”

The June 8 spot is Evers’ first law enforcement-focused ad, with the majority of past spots highlighting small businesses or fundraising efforts, and it is airing in the Milwaukee and Green Bay market areas. Wisconsin’s primaries are Aug. 9.

Also in Wisconsin, a new spot from the Democratic nonprofit group Majority Forward blames Republican Sen. Ron Johnson for his legislative decisions on guns. After naming recent mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., Uvalde, Texas and Milwaukee, the spot says Johnson blocked “common sense” gun safety laws.

“Senator Johnson, it’s time to help police tackle gun violence and crime,” the narrator says at the end. (The ad has only aired a handful of times in Madison so far, after launching earlier this week, per AdImpact.)

And House Democrats’ House Majority PAC aired a new Spanish-language ad on Wednesday for the TX-34 special election race against Republican Mayra Flores. The video casts Flores, the wife of a Border Patrol agent, as an opponent of law and order and ties her to the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks.

“She represents violence, fear and conspiracy theories,” the narrator says in Spanish, adding that those same theories led to violence at the Capitol.

The ads in Pennsylvania aren’t as explicit around crime and public safety, but Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor there, released three TV spots on crime at the end of last week and, per AdImpact’s estimates, has spent more than $633,000 to air them so far.

The ads focus on the state attorney general’s role in investigating the Catholic Church’s decades-long coverup of sexual abuse in 2018, highlighting survivors who recount their experiences working with Shapiro during the process. Nearly 1 in 4 residents of Pennsylvania is Catholic.

“Josh undertaking this gave me hope for the first time in my life,” said one woman from Reading.

“Josh Shapiro went after an institution that so many other politicians were afraid to go after,” said another woman from Allentown.

SIX ADS TO WATCH THIS WEEK:

Planned Parenthood began airing a Spanish-language ad in Miami on Wednesday. People have had the right to abortion for nearly 50 years, the narrator says, but new laws threaten to take away self-autonomy. “Legal and safe abortion isn’t a debate, it’s our right,” the ad says. “Stop controlling us.” In April, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a 15-week abortion ban into law, the strictest in the state’s history.

One advertisement from Arizona attorney general candidate Dawn Grove raises fear over “an invasion … of single, military-aged men” crossing the border, saying she would sue President Joe Biden for damages and continue to build a wall separating Mexico and the United States. The spot began airing last week in the Phoenix market. Another ad from fellow GOP candidate Andrew Gould said he would hang “No Trespassing Zone” signs on state and private land to encourage law enforcement to arrest people entering illegally. The Arizona primaries are Aug. 2.

A new series of attack ads have been traded between Illinois GOP Reps. Mary Miller","url":"https://cd.politicopro.com/member/369725","personId":"369725","_id":"00000181-4595-def0-abb5-4f97a5740000","_type":"353fe80b-e1b5-3663-85ca-add066ecafc0"}">Mary Miller and Rodney Davis","url":"https://cd.politicopro.com/member/17344","personId":"17344","_id":"00000181-4595-d79b-abbd-ed97dc470000","_type":"353fe80b-e1b5-3663-85ca-add066ecafc0"}">Rodney Davis in their upcoming primary. The two incumbents are currently airing more than a dozen spots between them, several of which are negative ads that came out this week. The Illinois Values PAC has the highest spend, with a May 23 ad that paints Miller as anti-military, while the next highest spend from the Conservative Outsider PAC calls Davis a “squish" whose ads about Miller suggest he thinks voters are “stupid."

False claims of widespread voting fraud are on the ballot in the June 14 Nevada secretary of state race. The Americans for Secure Elections PAC released a negative ad against Jim Marchant, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, for having a sparse voting record in the state. “You shouldn’t eat barbecue cooked by a vegan,” the narrator says over a picture of grilled vegetables, “and you shouldn’t put someone who doesn’t even bother to vote in charge of Nevada’s elections.” The Conservatives for Election Integrity PAC put out a positive ad for Marchant on the same day, outlining some of his plans to stop voter fraud.

TOP CANDIDATE SPENDING (6/1/22-6/8/22, per AdImpact): 

• Irvin for IL Governor: $3,751,630
• Caruso for Los Angeles Mayor: $2,059,381
• Pritzker for IL Governor: $1,493,088
• Shapiro for PA Governor: $1,492,088
• Delgado for NY Lt. Governor: $1,481,226

TOP COMMITTEES/OUTSIDE GROUPS/SUPER PAC SPENDING (6/1/22-6/8/22, per AdImpact):

• Californians for Tribal Sovereignty and Safe Gaming: $4,379,186
• National Republican Senatorial Committee: $2,971,500
• Taxpayers Protection Alliance: $2,909,882
• Coalition for Safe Responsible Gaming: $2,408,870
• Democratic Governors Association: $2,329,377