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.
Add comment