Transgender issues, crime, immigration, abortion major themes in closing ads in key Assembly races

Going into Election Day, Republicans are targeting Dems on topics such as transgender issues, support for crime prevention, and illegal immigration. 

Dems are hitting Republicans on issues including abortion, outsourcing jobs and prescription drug prices. 

And both Republican candidate Ryan Huebsch in the 94th AD and Dem David Marstellar in the 21st AD are facing attack ads for offensive comments they made online. 

WisPolitics reviewed TV ads posted to AdImpact that were running Oct. 29 and 30 to provide a window into top Assembly campaigns’ final messaging going into Election Day. 

An ad targeting Marstellar knocks him for calling a Black woman a racial slur. 

A screenshot shared with WisPolitics shows Marstellar posted on his Threads account saying “The Daily Wire has broken her” with a picture of a broken Oreo cookie. “Oreo” is a racial slur that refers to mixed-race or Black people accused of adopting white characteristics. Though the post doesn’t mention her directly, it is dated March 22, the same day Black conservative commentator Candace Owens was fired from The Daily Wire. 

The state GOP provided the screenshot, which was passed along to the party by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee. A search for a Threads account matching the username in the screenshot did not turn up a profile, saying the link may be broken or the page has been removed. 

Marstellar did not immediately provide comment on the post. 

The anti-Huebsch criticism focuses on posts he made online as a teen. Huebsch, son of former Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, graduated from high school in 2014, according to his personal Facebook account. 

In 2014, Huebsch responded to a photo of rapper Tyler, the Creator wearing a hat that says “golf” next to a golf ball wearing a hat with a racial slur against Black people written on it. In response, Huebsch said, “lol I need a hat for my balls.” In 2010, he posted he “can’t wait to kill —”, using a racial slur against people of Arab descent. In other posts, Huebsch used an offensive term for those with cognitive disabilities.

Huebsch has said what he wrote online “in no way reflects the person I am today.” 

See below for descriptions and view the ads by clicking on the dropdown toggles.

21st AD: Rep. Jessie Rodriguez, R-Oak Creek vs. Milwaukee Dem David Marstellar

A Better Wisconsin Together is running an ad saying more than 85% of Rodriguez’s campaign funding came from anti-abortion groups.

An Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee and Marstellar campaign ad tells voters not to believe attack ads against Marstellar about his record on crime.

The Republican Assembly Campaign Committee has three ads criticizing comments by Marstellar, saying he calls police neo-Nazis, said empowering parents is “stupid,” and called a Black woman a racial slur. 

26th AD: Rep. Amy Binsfeld, R-Sheboygan vs. Sheboygan Dem Joe Sheehan

Ads from ADCC and Sheehan’s campaign feature Sheehan, former Sheboygan Area School District superintendent, saying Binsfeld voted against free school meals and touting his work to create a partnership between his school district and local manufacturers. 

A Better Wisconsin Together is running ads targeting Binsfeld on abortion, including two ads here and here saying Republicans voted to uphold an 1849 abortion ban and one saying Binsfeld promoted “abortion reversal” treatments. 

A Fight for Our Rights PAC ad knocks Binsfeld’s support for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

An ad from RACC and Binsfeld’s campaign says Sheehan oversaw poor graduation rates and student performance as superintendent.

30th AD: Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, R-River Falls vs. River Falls Dem Alison Page

Three ads from RACC, with one featuring Zimmerman’s wife, Angel, saying her husband supports abortion exceptions for rape and incest, saying Page wants “your teen daughter getting dressed with a strange man” and labeling Page as an “extremist.”  

Ads from a Better Wisconsin Together say Zimmerman has taken more than 85% of his campaign donations from anti-abortion groups and saying he would outlaw abortion. ADCC and Page are running ads with Page sharing her experience of getting an abortion, saying Zimmerman authored a law to ban abortion in Wisconsin and featuring Page saying Zimmerman is “holding our hospital funding hostage.”

51st AD: Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville, vs. Mount Horeb Dem Elizabeth Grabe

Novak and RACC have ads saying Novak passed legislation to protect abortion exceptions and voted to expand access to birth control, calling Grabe a “city slicker from Miami” who supports banning gas-powered vehicles and saying Grabe is backed by a group that wants to take power away from local school boards and “extremists” who want to defund the police.

ADCC and Grabe’s campaign are running ads saying Novak voted with “extreme party leaders,” that he supports an abortion ban with no exceptions, and featuring Grabe saying she supports lowering costs and protecting the abortion rights. 

A Better Wisconsin Together has an ad saying nearly 84% of Novak’s campaign funds came from anti-abortion groups. 

An Assembly Accountability Project ad says Novak supports letting politicians ban abortion without exceptions. 

Main Street Alliance has two ads backing Grabe featuring small business owners Marie and Corrine saying Grabe will support them. 

53rd AD: Neenah Republican Dean Kaufert vs. Neenah Dem Duane Shukoski

ADCC and Shukoski have ads calling Kaufert, a former GOP state rep and Neenah mayor, a career politician, saying he would restrict abortion and contraception access, and featuring Shukoski saying Wisconsinites “can’t afford” Kaufert and that Kaufert repeatedly voted against union workers.

RACC and Kaufert are running ads claiming Shukoski is “just fine” letting people who in the country illegally vote in U.S. elections and saying Shukoski is okay with letting biological men in girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms while saying Kaufert supports abortion exceptions, and saying Shukoski is backed by those who want to defund the police. Another ad feature Kaufert touting his work as Neenah’s mayor. 

Ads from A Better Wisconsin Together say more than 93% of Kaufert’s campaign funding came from anti-abortion groups, suggesting Kaufert would have voted to uphold an 1849 abortion ban and saying Kaufert wants to ban abortion “on nearly all cases.”

61st AD: Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield vs. Hales Corners Dem LuAnn Bird

A Better Wisconsin Together is airing ads saying nearly 85% of Donovan’s campaign funds came from anti-abortion groups and that Donovan voted against lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

Ads from ADCC and Bird’s campaign say Donovan authored a law to ban abortion in Wisconsin and he “wants to control a woman’s most private medical decisions.”

RACC and Donovan’s campaign are running ads saying Donovan passed legislation protecting abortion exceptions, that Bird would raise taxes, give illegal immigrants free housing and health care, allowing teaching “racial division” in schools and force girls to share bathrooms with men, and another ad touching on those themes. 

ACLU has an ad saying Bird is endorsed by Planned Parenthood, but Donovan voted to keep an abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest.

85th AD: Rep. Patrick Snyder, R-Schofield vs. Weston Dem Yee Leng Xiong

A Better Wisconsin Together is running three ads saying Snyder is too focused on abortion bans to care about the issues that matter, funded by drug insurance companies and “doing nothing” to stop corporations from outsourcing jobs.

An ADCC and Xiong campaign ad says Snyder has “compared abortion to genocide” and voted against guaranteeing the right to contraception, while Xiong “trusts Wisconsin women to make their own health care decisions.” Another tells voters Xiong will “create jobs and lower costs.”

RACC is running three ads against Xiong, saying his “destructive policies are making things even harder for the middle class,” Xiong’s policies will “crush Wausau” and that Xiong has lied about Snyder’s position on abortion.

88th AD: De Pere Republican Benjamin Franklin vs. De Pere Dem Christy Welch

A Better Wisconsin Together has ads saying Franklin has kept prices high, is too focused on abortion bans to care about the issues that matter and would vote to ban abortion.

ADCC has ads with the Welch campaign calling Franklin “extreme” and knock Franklin for his views on abortion.

RACC has ads with the Franklin campaign that say the priorities of Welch and her “radical allies” are a “government takeover, eliminating private health insurance plans, defunding law enforcement and raising taxes” and that Welch does not pay her taxes.

Forward Majority Action has an ad saying Franklin is part of a “divisive coalition” that seeks to limit reproductive rights.

Wisconsin Initiative has an ad saying Franklin opposes bringing down health care costs.

89th AD: Green Bay Republican Patrick Buckley vs. Green Bay Dem Ryan Spaude

ADCC and the Spaude campaign have four ads about Buckley support of abortion bans,  not paying taxes, voting against public safety initiatives and failing to support care for seniors.

RACC has four ads with the Buckley campaign saying Spaude has lied in his ads about Buckley, forces girls to “share bathrooms and locker rooms with men” and went easy on criminals as a prosecutor.

A Better Wisconsin Together has ads saying not to trust Buckley, and that he will “tax anything that moves” and he supports banning abortion in Wisconsin.

WMC Issues Mobilization Council is running an ad saying Spaude is backed by a “radical group calling to defund the police.”

92nd AD: Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie vs. Menomonie Dem Joe Plouff

A Better Wisconsin Together is running an ad saying Moses is too focused on abortion bans to care about the issues that matter.

94th AD: Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska vs. Onalaska Republican Ryan Huebsch

Doyle has ads running touting his commitment to working hard for his constituents and his focus on bipartisanship.

RACC and Huebsch are running ads saying Doyle is “unwilling to secure the border” and forced girls to “share bathrooms and locker rooms with biological boys.”

Assembly Accountability Project is showing an ad saying Huebsch’s social media posts are racist and full of degrading terms for women and people with disabilities.

A Better Wisconsin Together is running ads knocking Huebsch’s social media posts and saying he supports an abortion ban.