In Wisconsin’s Senate Race, the Republican Highlights Baldwin’s Sexuality

The Senate campaign of Eric Hovde, a Republican in Wisconsin, has just begun running this 30-second ad on television stations in Madison, Wis., this week, so far at a cost of $30,000, according to AdImpact.

Here’s a look at the ad, its accuracy and its major takeaway.

On the Screen

The advertisement opens with images of Senator Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, seemingly in midshout, and a woman described by a female narrator as Ms. Baldwin’s “life partner,” Maria Brisbane. The two women appear to be side by side in matching turquoise suits against a city skyline. The music has a boisterous, big-band swing, as if the two women are out on the town.

The ad zooms in on Ms. Brisbane’s LinkedIn profile, and a headline identifies her as a private wealth adviser to “the superrich and private equity.” Images of New York City flash by — the East River, a loaded hot dog, a Wall Street subway platform — as do close-ups of the initial images of Ms. Baldwin and Ms. Brisbane. Money showers down from the sky in between the two women, with an aerial view of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building in the background.

A headline blares that Ms. Baldwin “received over $1.3 million from N.Y. donors,” then an image of Ms. Baldwin is placed in front of Times Square as another headline declares she’s “not Wisconsin’s senator anymore.” Instead, it concludes, she’s “the third senator from New York” — as she is shown looking angry and windblown in an “I Love New York” T-shirt.

The Script

Narrator

“This is Senator Tammy Baldwin. This is her life partner, Maria Brisbane, a Wall Street exec who makes millions advising the superrich how to make money off industries Tammy regulates. Tammy doesn’t get home to Wisconsin most weekends. She’d rather be in New York at Maria’s $7 million condo. That’s why New Yorkers have given Tammy over $1.3 million. Tammy Baldwin’s not Wisconsin’s senator anymore — she’s the third senator from New York.”