Friday, September 28, 2018
Contact: Brad Bainum, bradb@wisdems.org
MADISON — As she defends her record of siding with powerful insurance companies over Wisconsinites with cancer and hearing impairments and campaigns on gutting protections for Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Leah Vukmir is getting a boost from outside groups bankrolled by two billionaires: Dick Uihlein and Diane Hendricks.
This week, two groups funded by Uihlein announced $330,000 in digital and radio ad spending to beat Tammy Baldwin and buy a Senate seat for Leah Vukmir. That follows Hendricks-funded Wisconsin Next PAC spending nearly $700,000 in TV and digital spending attacking Baldwin earlier this month.
According to the Associated Press, after Vukmir won the August 14 Republican primary, Vukmir said she hoped that Uihlein would spend money to buy her the election, “even though [Vukmir] had previously accused [Uihlein] of trying to buy the Senate seat.”
“By Leah Vukmir’s own admission, billionaire megadonors Diane Hendricks and Dick Uihlein are spending millions to buy an election for Vukmir, because they want to replace Tammy Baldwin and buy a U.S. Senator who will work for them and corporate special interests, not Wisconsin,” said Brad Bainum, Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson for the 2018 Senate race.
