Ken Goldstein, a UW-Madison political science professor who now heads Kantar Media/CMAG, which tracks political ads, cites their pivotal role in Wisconsin?s U.S. Senate race. He calls the fact that Democrat Tammy Baldwin ?had the airwaves to herself for over a month? after the primary, which depleted Republican Tommy Thompson?s cash reserves, ?decisive in her impressive victory.? As for the presidential race, Goldstein says, ?Advertising matters at the margin, and in many battleground states, the margin mattered.? And that makes the impact of all those commercials anything but marginal.
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