john, this is Tammy Baldwin.

Within one week of announcing his campaign, my Republican opponent launched millions of dollars worth of TV and digital ads to blanket Wisconsin and attempt to control the narrative in our race.

For weeks, Eric Hovde had the airwaves to himself — putting our campaign in a difficult position.

That’s why my campaign manager gave the green light to increase our advertising budget so we could launch our own TV and digital ads right away.

This was a tough decision to make. I know it carries a pretty big risk. But we didn’t anticipate these so-called “ad wars” beginning so soon, and we certainly didn’t expect Hovde to dump buckets of money into the race this early.

Look, TV ads aren’t cheap — they’re one of the most expensive line items on any campaign’s budget, but they’re also one of the most effective ways to win an election.

That’s why I’m telling you all of this. The decision may have blown a hole in the budget, but I felt confident taking the risk because this grassroots team has always had my back. My hope is that I can count on you right now.

Will you split a donation between Tina Smith and my campaign to help us close this unexpected budget gap so we can keep our ads up for as long as possible? We can’t let my opponent’s multi-million dollar ad buy go unanswered, but I’ll need your support to ensure we have the resources to compete.

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Thanks for having my back, today and always.

— Tammy