Feb. 13, 2025
by Henry Redman, Wisconsin Examiner
Both campaigns for Wisconsin Supreme Court have been fueled by cash provided by billionaire donors through the state Democratic and Republican parties, according to recently filed campaign finance reports.
Dane County Judge Susan Crawford, received $2 million from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin after donations to the party from billionaire George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B.Pritzker. Soros gave $1 million to the party and Pritzker gave $500,000.
Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, a former Republican state attorney general, received $1.675 million from the state Republican party after Illinois billionaire Liz Uihlein donated $975,000 and Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks gave $850,000 to the party.
State law allows party committees to make unlimited contributions to candidates. The maximum donation allowed for individuals to Supreme Court candidates is $20,000.
The race for an open seat on the Court to replace the retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley will decide the ideological swing of the body. Two years ago, when Justice Janet Protasiewicz defeated former Justice Dan Kelly to secure a majority for the Court’s liberals, the race set spending records.
Schimel has joked on the campaign trail about making repeat trips to Menard’s to buy knee pads because of all the begging for money he’s had to do — comments that drew an ethics complaint from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign for violating state judicial code, which prevents judicial candidates from directly asking for money.
In total, Crawford raised nearly $4.5 million during the reporting period between Jan. 1 and Feb. 3, giving her a total of more than $7.7 million raised since she entered the race last year. She ended the reporting period with $3.1 million in the bank.
Schimel raised $2.7 million during the reporting period and ended it with $2.4 million cash on hand.
Crawford received eight maximum donations of $20,000 including one from Colorado billionaire Pat Stryker. Just more than $1 million in her donations came from out-of-state.
Schimel received four maximum donations, including one from Hendricks. He also received donations from three Republican members of Congress, including $18,000 from Wisconsin Rep. Tom Tiffany, $18,000 from Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan and $15,000 from Oregon Rep. Cliff Bentz. He raised $66,614 from out-of-state donors.
Wisconsin Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Wisconsin Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Ruth Conniff for questions: info@wisconsinexaminer.com.
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