See the list of the ultrawealthy using a loophole in state campaign finance law allowing them to bypass legal limits and steer huge sums of cash to political candidates.
See the list of the ultrawealthy using a loophole in state campaign finance law allowing them to bypass legal limits and steer huge sums of cash to political candidates.
If you want to make a political donation directly to a candidate for president, the most you can give him or her is $6,600 per election cycle. The same goes for candidates running for the U.S. Senate or House.
For governor of Wisconsin, the limit is $10,000 per election cycle.
For Wisconsin State Senate, it’s $2,000.
But you can write a check to a political party in Wisconsin for $1 million, or more. And many do, because no legal limits exist on how much a person can donate to a party in the state. And no limits exist on how much a party can give to candidates. So the parties allow the wealthy to bypass campaign finance limits and get hundreds of thousands or even millions directly to political candidates.
That’s due to a loophole in campaign finance law in Wisconsin that was opened by a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, and then left open by Republican inaction in the state legislature. Democrats have proposed bills that would close the loophole and impose limits on what political parties can receive and give. But the GOP-controlled state legislature has ignored the bills.
So the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is now using the loophole to its advantage, vastly outraising the Republican Party of Wisconsin for the past few years.
LinkedIn co-founder and Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor Reid Hoffman has donated the most this year. Diane Hendricks, whom Forbes calls the richest self-made woman in the country, continues to give huge sums to state Republicans. The Wall Street investor and billionaire liberal George Soros gave another $1 million to state Democrats this year. Bill Gates’ son Rory Gates jumped into the fray for the first time this year, giving state Democrats $250,000.
See who is taking the greatest advantage of the loophole in the list below.
| CONTRIBUTOR | CITY & STATE | AMOUNT | PARTY | |
| HOFFMAN, REID GARRETT | MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA | co-founder of LinkedIn | $3,000,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| HENDRICKS, DIANE | BELOIT, WI | founder & chair of ABC Supply | $1,063,600 | REPUBLICAN |
| DUDA, KENNETH JAMES | MENLO PARK, CA | co-founder Arista Networks | $1,000,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| SOROS, GEORGE | NEW YORK, NY | Wall St. investor | $1,000,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| PAGE, GLORIA | LOS ALTOS, CA | $500,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| SINGH, NINA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | tech executive | $500,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| KERN, DEBORAH S | FOX POINT, WI | $300,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| HARRIS SR, WILLIAM HAMILTON | LEXINGTON, MA | $250,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| UIHLEIN, LYNDE B | MILWAUKEE, WI | philanthropist & Schlitz heir | $350,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| HEISING, MARK W | ATHERTON, CA | $250,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| GATES, RORY | REDMOND, WA | son of Bill Gates | $250,000 | DEMOCRATIC |
| KERN, DEBORAH | SHOREWOOD, WI | $250,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MICKLES, LINDSAY | PETALUMA, CA | $200,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MENNET, LISA ANN | SEATTLE, WA | $190,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| GENTINE, LOUIS P | ELKHART LAKE, WI | CEO of Sargento Cheese | $175,000 | REPUBLICAN |
| SNOWDON JR, EDWARD | NEW YORK, NY | $150,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| SHENKER, SCOTT M | BERKELEY, CA | $150,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| REEVES, WILLIAM HUNTINGTON | HONOLULU, HI | $140,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| HALL, DAVID | MADISON, WI | $103,600 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| SHAFFER, JOHN E | CHICAGO, IL | $101,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| ALSOP, JOSEPH W | BEVERLY, MA | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| HANEY III, WILLIAM | WAYLAND, MA | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| HOTSETTER JR, AMOS | BOSTON, MA | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MUNGER, PHILIP R | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| RUBIN, ROBERT E (BOB) | NEW YORK, NY | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| LIEBMAN, THOMAS | LAKE BARRINGTON, IL | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MESSINGER, ALIDA R | AFTON, MN | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| PRITZKER, JOHN | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MILLER JR, JOHN W | FOX POINT, WI | $100,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| SUMMIT CREDIT UNION | MADISON, WI | $95,137 | REPUBLICAN | |
| BILLS, MICHAEL D | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA | $90,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| RICCITIELLO, ROBINA | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $90,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| CLAY, KIRK | NEW YORK, NY | $90,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MUNGER, WENDY | PASADENA, CA | $90,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| RYAN, ADAM | MADISON, WI | $85,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| PERACCHIO, LAURA | SHOREWOOD, WI | $75,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| EDELMAN, RICHARD | MILWAUKEE, WI | $65,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| EMILYS LIST | WASHINGTON, DC | $60,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| LABORERS INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA | WASHINGTON, DC | $60,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| DEVEREAUX, MARJORIE | MADISON, WI | $54,600 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| LUBAR, MARIANNE | RIVER HILLS, WI | $52,025 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| LUBAR, SHELDON | RIVER HILLS, WI | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| LUBAR, MADELEINE KELLY | MILWAUKEE, WI | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| MUNGER, MOLLY | PASADENA, CA | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| BERNSTEIN, MATTHEW H | ATLANTA, GA | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| ENGLISH, STEPHEN | PASADENA, CA | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| GREENEY, WENDY F | TRAVERSE CITY, MI | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| HALL, DAVID | PEWAUKEE, WI | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| DONOHOE, ROBIN RICHARDS | SAN FRANCISCO, CA | $50,000 | DEMOCRATIC | |
| RAPP, ERIC | AVOCA, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| WALL, TERRENCE | MIDDLETON, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| JENSEN, JAY S | MADISON, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| YOUNG JR, FRED M | RACINE, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| COLWIN, JOSEPH & DAWN | FOND DU LAC, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN | |
| READ, VERNE | MILWAUKEE, WI | $50,000 | REPUBLICAN |
The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.
This article first appeared on The Badger Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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