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Trump Outpaces Clinton In Wisconsin TV Ads

Wesleyan Media Project Review Found Clinton Stopped Running TV Ads In Wisconsin Last Month.

A new survey of campaign advertising shows Donald Trump continued to run TV ads in Wisconsin over the past month while Hillary Clinton did not.

Travis Ridout
Ridout

The Wesleyan Media Project, co-directed by WSU political science professor Travis Ridout, reviews broadcast television and national cable ad buys mentioning candidates. In most states, it found pro-Clinton ads significantly outnumbered pro-Trump ads between Sept. 16 and Oct. 13.

But the reverse was true in Wisconsin where either Trump or the conservative super PAC Reform America Fund aired a total of about 2,400 ads while Clinton and her allies aired none.

“I think she’s decided that she’s pretty much got Wisconsin locked up and there’s no need to invest any more resources in the state,” Ridout said. The Trump campaign’s path to victory on a national scale is much narrower than Clinton’s, which could explain why it is still advertising in Wisconsin, he said.

“Maybe they’re seeing something in their polling. Maybe they’re looking at the demographics of the state — a fairly white state — and thinking maybe they can gain some traction there if they invest in some additional advertising.”

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Wisconsin Public Radio

Trump Has Spent a Fraction of What Clinton Has on Ads

Hillary Clinton and Donald J. Trump are in the final sprint of spending on television advertising, which has been vastly lower than in previous elections.

This election year has been an interesting anomaly. Outside groups have spent far less on the presidential election this year than they did in 2012. Travis Ridout, a professor of government at Washington State University and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project, noted that swing states were blanketed in ads four years ago.

“The groups that were investing the millions upon millions in ads in highly saturated media markets just weren’t happy with the returns they were getting,” he said.

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The New York Times

Civility 101: You’re invited

North Idaho College will partner with the Coeur d’Alene Task Force on Human Relations, the school’s own Diversity Council, and the Associated Students of North Idaho College in a one-day conference, “Returning Civility to America’s Democracy: The Promotion of Civil Dialogue,” 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday at the Schuler Performing Arts Center in Boswell Hall.

The conference’s keynote speaker will be Cornell W. Clayton, director of Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University.

Clayton also is a professor of political science, an author and well-known lecturer on the topic of civility.

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CDA Press

Pakootas, McMorris-Rodgers meet again

Challenger contends incumbent is part of the problem rather than the solution.

As Congress limps through its seventh consecutive year of anemic approval ratings, Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers has the difficult task of convincing voters she’s part of the solution, rather than an extension of the problem.

“I’m smarter about what needs to happen,” she said during a debate hosted last week by the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University. “I hear that people are angry with Congress,” McMorris-Rodgers said. “I want to take that and turn it into smart solutions. My goal is to be your voice in Washington and restore trust in representative government.”

Pakootas said McMorris-Rodgers has been a poor advocate for the district, focusing more on party fundraisers than on the needs of rural areas, veterans and families.

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Researchers study effect of marijuana on policing

The long-time controversy over marijuana legalization in Washington finally came to an end in 2012 when the state legislature passed Initiative 502. Four years later, WSU researchers are studying how it affected police operations.

Mary Stohr
Stohr

WSU criminal justice and criminology professor Mary Stohr will lead a $1 million three-year study beginning January 1, 2017, to research the effects that the legalization has had on law enforcement and policing. The grant, from the National Institute of Justice, will look at policing in the state and how the criminal justice organization adjusted to this policy change.

Stohr said they are curious about how police changed their practices since the legalization and how it affected crime rate statistics.

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Daily Sun News

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