BROWN DEER — An attack ad in the 8th State Senate district targets state Sen. Alberta Darling, and her record on prescription drug prices.
The ad ran by Democratic challenger Neal Plotkin claims she voted twice to allow companies to raise prices of drugs.
"It's kind of rough," said Monroe Shaw. "It can be a pretty high cost."
Shaw is a voter in the eighth district in Brown Deer. He says even with assistance, drug prices are hard to ignore.
"I consider myself blessed because the company I retired from helps me out but it's a very high cost even then," he said. "Sometimes I find myself in trouble."
He and other voters say drug prices are at the top of his list when he heads to the ballot box.
The ad against the incumbent Darling focuses on two issues from more than 15 years ago.
In 2003, she voted to prevent a Democratic amendment that would have kept prescription drug co-pays the same price under the state's assistance program.
In 2005, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Darling and Senate Republicans had considered phasing out a state-run prescription drug program called SeniorCare.
They reversed course and the program still exists today.
More recently, Darling sponsored a plan to lower the cost of chemotherapy drugs for cancer patients.
In 2020, those drug prices are still top of mind.
"Especially if you have heart trouble or diabetes, or special things, the cost of medicine can really go up," Shaw said.