Koch Group Rolls Out $1.8M Pro-Walker Ad Buy

A conservative advocacy group funded by billionaire activist brothers Charles and David Koch is launching a $1.8 million ad buy for Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin announced the TV, cable and digital ad buy on Tuesday. It’s the latest in a series of seven-figure ad buys in the race that pits the Republican Walker against the state schools chief, Democrat Tony Evers.

The AFP ad quotes positive comments from Evers for Walker’s most recent education budget, including calling it “pro-kid.”

Evers has said that he praised the additional spending for public schools because Walker was proposing much of what Evers put forward as state superintendent.

Walker has cast himself as an “education governor,” while Evers has said Walker is trying to hide his record cutting spending and attacking collective bargaining.

Meanwhile, two Democratic groups supporting Evers are launching new television ads defending his handling of a case involving a teacher who viewed pornographic images on a school computer.

The Democratic Governors Association, through a group called A Stronger Wisconsin, as well as the liberal advocacy group the Greater Wisconsin Committee both unveiled new ads Monday.

The attack over how Evers handled the case of a Middleton teacher has been a central line of attack for months from Walker and his allies. The Wisconsin Republican Party last week ran an ad saying Evers failed to keep kids safe because he didn’t revoke the teacher’s license.

Both Democratic ads emphasize that Evers didn’t have the power to revoke the teacher’s license at the time but successfully sought a law change to give the state superintendent that authority.