Hijacking Campaign 2025 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2025
Posted: March 13, 2025
Updated: March 26, 2025
In Union USA is a federally registered super PAC based in Washington D.C. that makes independent expenditures to support Democratic candidates for office nationwide. In Union USA’s website says it is supported by a “group of unions” to research issues affecting workers, scrutinize public officials and hold them to account. In Union USA is not registered with the state of Wisconsin, and this is the first time it has reported campaigning in a Wisconsin state-level election.
Filings with the Federal Elections Commission show the PAC raised $6.89 million in the 2023-2024 election with the overwhelming majority of that coming from unions or union-controlled PACs. The single largest contributor in that time, at $2.75 million, was the SEIU COPE, the federal PAC controlled by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). The state branch of the SEIU has an independent expenditure committee active in the 2025 Wisconsin State Supreme Court campaign. Another committee with ties to the SEIU, Half Court Political Fund, is also active in the election.
The committee filed its first independent expenditure report with the state just under three weeks before the April 1st election for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. It reported spending about $145,000 on a mailing service to support Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and to oppose her opponent, Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. The two are vying for an open seat on the court. Although the court is officially nonpartisan, Craword is backed by the state Democratic party and Schimel by the Republicans. Liberals have enjoyed a 4-3 majority on the court since the last election in April 2023. The election of Schimel, a former Republican district attorney and state attorney general, would give control back to conservatives. Aside from determining the ideological direction of the court, the race has been portrayed in some election advertising as an early referendum on the second Trump presidential administration.
Twelve days from the election in April, In Union USA reported spending over $124,000 for mailers backing Crawford and opposing Schimel.
A week before election day, the committee reported spending almost $211,000 for mailers to support Crawford and oppose Schimel.
This organization is an unregistered independent expenditure committee that is required to report any such spending done within 60 days of a primary or an election to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission per Chapter 11, Subchapter X of Wisconsin Statutes.