Koch Brothers-Backed Group Launches Big Ad Campaign On Behalf Of Scott Walker

Koch Brothers Backed Group Goes In Big For Scott Walker's Reelection

A nonprofit group supported by the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch is launching a nearly $900,000 ad campaign designed to burnish Republican Gov. Scott Walker's record on economic issues in Wisconsin.

The Americans for Prosperity Foundation's pro-Walker ad doesn't explicitly mention the governor, or criticize his presumed Democratic opponent, businesswoman Mary Burke. Since 501(c)(3) groups are barred from using the names of candidates in ads, the foundation's new campaign represents a way to boost Walker without mentioning him specifically.

"How do we build a Wisconsin? It starts with strong leadership in Madison," says an unidentified woman in the ad.

Americans for Prosperity spokesman Christopher Neefus told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the ad will run for three weeks in all of the state's major media markets.

The ad makes a plug for the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity's website, in an attempt to make voters feel positively about the state's economic climate. The group spent millions on Walker's behalf leading up to his recall election in 2012.

In 2011, Walker was prank-called by a journalist posing as David Koch, with whom he discussed the activists rallying against his anti-union legislation.

A Marquette University Law School poll released last week showed a close race between Walker and Burke, with the two candidates tied among registered Wisconsin voters.

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