Governor Scott Walker’s re-election campaign is taking to the airwaves to defend the incentive package given to Foxconn to build a new facility in Racine County. The television ad campaign features four ads tailored to different markets in Wisconsin to sell the public that the Foxconn deal is a good deal for Wisconsin.
According to a release from the Walker campaign, the four ads are:
The Green Bay ad, entitled “Foxconn: Work for Local Companies,” features Gov. Walker speaking at Foxconn’s Green Bay Innovation Center and the Foxconn job site as he describes how job creators will benefit: Wisconsin landed Foxconn … It will create 13,000 family-supporting jobs. Plus hundreds of high tech jobs at this innovation center, and work for local companies ….
The western Wisconsin ad, entitled “Foxconn: Keeping Wisconsin Working,” features the governor and workers from Hoffman Construction, which has added 100 jobs from the Foxconn project, with Hoffman workers saying: It’ll help companies like ours in Black River Falls. … Hoffman Construction will put in a half million man hours and add 100 jobs.
The central and northern Wisconsin ad, entitled “Foxconn: Helping Companies Like Mine,” highlights a local business leader from Merrill Steel and a worker who join the governor in discussing how Foxconn will have a positive impact in their community – with company president Fred saying: It’ll help companies like mine here in Schofield. … And keep Wisconsin working for generations to come.
The southeastern Wisconsin ad, entitled “Foxconn: Wisconsin’s On a Roll,” features Governor Walker highlighting the overall transformative economic growth under his leadership – including Foxconn’s record investment, with the governor saying: And this, this is where Foxconn is building the largest economic project in state history, creating 13,000 family-supporting jobs.
The Foxconn deal has been under partisan attack from the Democratic candidates running for governor, as well as most Democratic leaders, almost since the day it was announced. The desire by most Democrats to make the Foxconn investment a partisan issue even helped push Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) out of his position as the minority leader in the Assembly.
Unfortunately for the governor, the Foxconn deal is not as popular as Republican leaders had hoped. According to the most recent Marquette University Law School poll, 46 percent think the state is paying too much for the new Foxconn facility while only 39 percent think the plant will be worth the state investment. The poll also found 58 percent of those responding to the poll say their local businesses will not benefit from the Foxconn investment.
However, Foxconn has since announced new facilities in Green Bay and Eau Claire, two key swing areas politically.
Foxconn is expected to hire as many as 13,000 workers in southeastern Wisconsin with an average salary of $53,875 when the $10 billion facility is completed. The $3 billion incentive package, to be paid out over the next 15 years, is designed so Foxconn only receives the incentives as they meet their capital construction and hiring targets.
The Foxconn facility is expected to have an impact of $7 billion in annual economic activity with 22,000 indirect jobs created.
