By Mark Brown
CLEARWATER–Greg Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association, said his New Prosperity Foundation will continue to pour money into “micro-targeted” cable television advertising to defeat Democratic candidates in six key Illinois congressional races this fall.
The New Prosperity Foundation, one of the so-called “Super-PACs” that can raise and spend money in unlimited amounts on political campaigns, has dropped $508,000 into Illinois congressional races so far this year, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Baise, speaking after a breakfast meeting of the Illinois delegation to the Republican National Convention, said New Prosperity does not have the same “kind of big money” as better known SuperPacs like Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS but expects to have success by being more focused on reaching targeted voters.
Baise, who founded New Prosperity with Chicago businessman Ron Gidwitz, said it takes about 150,000-160,000 votes to win a Congressional race in Illinois, “so if you concentrate on trying to swing 10-15-20,00 votes, you can have have an impact.”
Super-PACs are not allowed to co-ordinate their efforts with a candidate’s campaign.
