Wis. governor candidate Barrett says money from Biden fundraiser will help fund more TV ads

Barrett will use money from Biden for TV ads

MADISON, Wis. — Money raised by Vice President Joe Biden during a closed-door breakfast event Thursday in downtown Madison will be used to buy more time to air commercials in the final three weeks of the governor’s race, Democrat Tom Barrett said.

Barrett said between 200 and 300 people were expected at the fundraiser with the vice president. Ticket prices started at $250 each, so if 200 people attend and pay the minimum the event will raise $50,000.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle was among those attending the event.

Barrett, speaking at his campaign headquarters before the fundraiser, said he knows people are tiring of the relentless television ads in the race between him and Republican Scott Walker. But Barrett said that’s the most effective way to get the campaign’s message out statewide.

“It’s part of the democracy we have right now,” Barrett said.

A new study of campaign advertising released Thursday shows that Barrett has outspent Walker 2-to-1 since the Sept. 14 primary, but outside groups have helped level the playing field. All told, the Midwest Foundation for Media Research report found that Walker and Republican allies have spent $1.75 million while Barrett and Democratic supporters have spent $2 million.

Spending on negative attack ads was six times greater than on other spots, the report found.

Polls have shown Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, leading Barrett, the Milwaukee mayor with just over three weeks to go before the Nov. 2 election.

Barrett said Biden chose to raise money in Wisconsin because he knows the race is tight.

“My assessment is it’s a very close race,” Barrett said.

The governor’s race has attracted interest from the White House and other national political figures given that the office is open for the first time in 28 years and Wisconsin is an important state in the 2012 presidential race.

President Barack Obama hosted a fundraiser for Barrett this summer and Barrett introduced Obama at a rally last week on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus.

Walker was campaigning in Green Bay on Thursday. Former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney planned to host a fundraiser for him on Oct. 18 in Milwaukee.