In recent weeks leading up to the election, the U.S. Senate race between U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson has proven to be one of the most negative senate races in the country, according to an organization that tracks campaign ads.
Data from Kantar Media CMAG found 99 percent of television ads that aired over a 30-day period ending Oct. 26 were negative, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The race between Thompson and Baldwin is even more negative than the presidential race. In the first three weeks of October, 94 percent of President Barack Obama’s ads and 88 percent of ads from the Mitt Romney campaign were negative, according to a study by the Wesleyan Media Project, which analyzes campaign ads.
The tight race between Thompson and Baldwin, with polls showing the two nearly tied, as well as neither candidate being an incumbent may account for the rampant negativity seen in campaign ads, according to University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor David Canon.
Canon said incumbents do not need to rely as much on negativity because they have advantages such as name recognition and prior experience to ease the pressure.
“Competitive open seat races tend to be the most negative races there are,” Canon said.
Ads from a conservative political group characterize Baldwin as being “too extreme for Wisconsin” and feature a fiery exclamation of “you’re damn right!” from Baldwin.
At the same time, an ad from the Baldwin campaign criticizes Thompson, saying he used to care about the people of Wisconsin but his interests have changed.
Canon said although it is unusual to see so many attack ads, the negativity has a purpose.
“Negative campaigns actually do stimulate voter interest,” Canon said, adding that they have always been present in American politics.
Additionally, he said it is important to consider that this data was collected in the final stretch of the U.S. Senate race, which is often the most negative part of any race.
