Hijacking Campaign 2019 - Information on Greater Wisconsin Committee
Hijacking Campaign 2019 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2019
Posted: March 7, 2019
Updated: June 21, 2021
This is the phony issue ad arm of the Greater Wisconsin Committee, which is mostly funded by labor unions and ideological groups to support Democratic and left-leaning candidates for local, legislative, and statewide offices.
The group ran a series of ads opposing conservative Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn in the April 2, 2019 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election. Hagedorn successfully ran against fellow Appeals Court Judge Lisa Neubauer for the 10-year seat left vacant by the retirement of former Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.
In early March 2019, the committee sponsored a 30-second television ad that questioned the fairness of conservative Appeals Judge Brian Hagedorn following media reports about Hagedorn’s past blog posts, speeches, and his connection to a school that where employees and students can be fired or expelled for being gay.
The group also sponsored a 30-second ad that accused Hagedorn of lobbying for a new law in 2011 when he was Republican Gov. Scott Walker's chief legal counsel that shields nursing homes from liability when patients are neglected, abused, or die.
In mid-March, the group sponsored two 30-second television ads. One advertisement accused Hagedorn of favoring discrimination because of his connection to a school that fires or expels staff and students for being gay. Another ad accused Hagedorn of lobbying in favor of changing liability laws to favor lead paint makers.
The group spent at least $1.2 million to produce and air the ads, which ran in the Madison, Green Bay, La Crosse, Eau Claire, Milwaukee, and Wausau TV markets.
At the end of February the organization first reported independent expenditures in the judicial race.
Last active election: 2018