Thomas Tiffany

EXCLUSIVE — A Koch network-aligned conservative group is pouring money into Wisconsin’s gubernatorial race in the hope that Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), the Republican nominee, can reclaim the governor’s mansion for the GOP.

Americans for Prosperity-Wisconsin on Monday launched a $3 million statewide advertising campaign to help Tiffany, who is in a margin-of-error race with Democratic opponent David Crowley, almost two weeks before Election Day.

The campaign includes two 30-second radio, cable TV, and digital ads in which Wisconsin voters compare Crowley’s record as Milwaukee County executive to Tiffany’s six years in Congress, highlighting Crowley’s record regarding taxes and crime, particularly his doubling of the county’s sales tax and property tax increases.

The Tiffany-Crowley race in Wisconsin is considered to be a toss-up by the Cook Political Report, but unlike the other gubernatorial matchups in Georgia, Nevada, and Ohio that the election prognosticator considers to be toss-ups, Wisconsin is the only one currently held by a Democrat, though the seat is open with Gov. Tony Evers’s retirement.

“Wisconsin families are already paying enough, and they deserve better than being asked to pay more for continued failures in the basic responsibilities of government,” AFP-WI State Director Megan Novak told the Washington Examiner. “David Crowley’s record in Milwaukee County has meant higher taxes and higher costs without the accountability taxpayers expect from their leaders.”

Novak added, “Wisconsin deserves better leadership. Tom Tiffany has spent his career fighting to lower taxes, rein in costs and hold government accountable, and he understands that taxpayers should be able to trust their government to deliver on the things that matter most like affordability and safer communities.”

Monday’s announcement increases AFP-WI’s investment in Wisconsin to $10 million, part of a larger $20 million commitment by AFP to gubernatorial races across the country this election cycle, specifically in Michigan and Kansas, in addition to Wisconsin.

For instance, AFP-WI activists have long been on the ground in Wisconsin, knocking on the doors of residents to encourage them to cast a ballot in support of Tiffany.

Those activists are scheduled to knock on their 1-millionth voter door next week, according to Novak, the organization’s state director.

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“That is why AFP-WI has made such a significant commitment in this race,” she said. “We have invested more than $10 million here in Wisconsin, and next week our grassroots operation will reach one million doors knocked statewide. This new $3 million campaign builds on that work and ensures we are reaching Wisconsinites everywhere — at their doors, in their communities and across the airwaves — with the case for a better direction with Tom Tiffany.”

Crowley has an average 3.5 percentage point edge over Tiffany, according to RealClearPolitics, as of Monday.