Mayor condemns GOP Senate race ad tying Democrat to Wisconsin Christmas parade killings

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The mayor of Waukesha on Wednesday condemned a campaign ad run by a Republican independent group that links Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin with the killings of six people at a 2021 Christmas parade in that Wisconsin city.

Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly called the ad a “pitiful political tool” that “doesn’t just hurt the families that had members that were killed, or those that were injured or those that even saw it, it hurts the whole entire community.”

Baldwin faces Republican Eric Hovde in one of the most hotly contested Senate races in the country this year. The race is crucial for Democrats to win to maintain majority control of the Senate.

The ad, which began airing across Wisconsin last week, was paid for by One Nation, an independent group aligned with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

“This issue ad focused on Senator Baldwin’s vote against increased funding for pretrial detention of violent criminals and included a call-to-action at the end,” said One Nation spokesperson Torunn Sinclair. “It’s not political.”

She said the ad stopped running on Monday. It remained viewable online on Wednesday.

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