“Mr. Trump’s loss was his most significant setback since Mr. Cruz narrowly defeated him in Iowa, the campaign’s first nominating contest. And after largely dominating the Republican field from the moment he announced his candidacy last June, Mr. Trump now faces a fresh challenge: bouncing back in the face of searing attack ads by Republicans bent on stopping him, questions about his demeanor and campaign organization, and a single ascendant challenger in Mr. Cruz.”⁸

This April 2016 article looks at Trump’s Wisconsin primary loss to Ted Cruz during the 2016 election cycle. Our Principles, a major political action group, had been running a “sustained assault” against Trump in Wisconsin leading up to the primary.⁹  With the results counted in favor of Ted Cruz, it appears the ad campaign may have worked in diminishing Trump’s image in the state and costing him valuable votes in the primary. The article also mentions that this loss in Wisconsin would present Trump with the new challenge of fighting back against the “searing attack ads by Republicans bent on stopping him,” suggesting continued attack ad campaigns could seriously hinder his performance in future primaries and possibly the general election.¹⁰

8. Martin, Jonathan, and Matt Flegenheimer. “Wisconsin Goes to Cruz, Raising Chance of Fight at Convention.” New York Times, April 6, 2016, sec. Section A. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/us/politics/republican-primary-results.html.

9. Ibid.

10.Ibid.