Hovde's Dark Money Ally Forced To Pull False Ads

A third-party dark money group was running an attack ad against Senator Tammy Baldwin, in which they falsely accused Baldwin of voting to cut Medicare in favor of funding for electric vehicles. Their accusations were based on Baldwin's vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which actually expanded Medicare and capped the cost of medications.

Enter the Elias Law Group:

Attorneys with Elias Law Group, on behalf of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, contacted OnMedia TV Ad Sales on Thursday requesting the spot's removal. They argued the ad "blatantly lies" about Baldwin's record.

"As Restoration PAC well knows, Senator Baldwin has never voted to cut Medicare. This false and misleading advertisement should be pulled from your network immediately," the DSCC attorneys' letter read.

OnMedia's director of national sales, Doug Staudt, responded Friday afternoon: "That spot has been replaced and no longer airing, as the agency provided alternate creative." Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesman Arik Wolk told the Journal Sentinel another TV advertising company, Viamedia, also told Elias Group lawyers the original ad had been pulled.

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