Hijacking Campaign 2022

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Wisconsin Right to Life PAC

Posted: July 30, 2022
Updated: March 25, 2024

Wisconsin Right to Life has long engaged in outside electioneering activities in legislative and statewide campaigns utilizing both this PAC, a separate independent expenditure committee and issue ads, spending nearly $176,000 on such activities between 2010 and 2019. It typically supports Republicans and opposes Democrats although it has also been involved in nonpartisan elections as well.

At the end of July the group's PAC reported spending a little over $700 on "postage" to support Assembly Speaker Robin Vos in the August 9 Republican primary. Five days before the primary, the PAC reported over another $600 to support Vos.

Last active election: 2019

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Rising Leaders PAC Inc

Posted: August 1, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Oath • Spending

This is a new political action committee (PAC) based in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. According to paperwork filed with the Wisconsin State Ethics Commission, its treasurer is Daniel Suhr, an attorney with the Liberty Justice Center who previously served as deputy legal counsel under former Republican Governor Scott Walker.

A week before the August 9 primaries, the PAC reported spending $4,000 on digital ads to support Erik Ngutse in the two-way Republican primary in the 13th Assembly District. The seat is was then held by Democrat Sara Rodriguez who vacated the seat to run for lieutenant governor. She had defeated the four-term Republican incumbent to win the seat in 2020.

The day of the primary, the group reported it had spent an additional $6,000 for online advertising to support Ngutse. Ngutse lost the primary to the eventual winner in November.

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Alliance for Common Sense

Posted: August 16, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Spending: $26,612,834*

This is a new outside electioneering group run by the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) to support the reelection of incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

The DGA is a national group that raises and spends unlimited amounts of money from special interests to elect Democratic candidates for governor across the country.

In the 2018 Wisconsin race for governor, the DGA used a phony issue ad group called A Stronger Wisconsin to pepper the airwaves with television ads from late August until Election Day. The ads attacked incumbent GOP Gov. Scott Walker, who lost to Evers. The DGA was the biggest spender among outside electioneering groups in the 2018 elections, doling out $13.45 million to back Evers.

The DGA and its partisan counterpart, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) were among the top outside spending groups in Wisconsin legislative and statewide elections since 2010.

In May 2022, the DGA announced it had reserved $21 million in television ad buys throughout the state. A review of ad buys at more than 30 Wisconsin television stations by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign found more than $11 million in reservations from Aug. 9 through Nov. 7.

In mid-August, the Alliance sponsored a 30-second television ad that claimed GOP candidate for governor Tim Michels was pushing a political agenda too radical and divisive for Wisconsin. The narrator says at the end of the ad that listeners should reject Michels’ politics because “it’s not his Wisconsin. It’s yours.”

The Alliance also sponsored two digital ads in mid-August – here and here – that claimed Michels would sign a bill, which Evers vetoed, that would allow guns on school grounds.

In late August, the Alliance released a 30-second ad that criticized Michels for supporting an 1849 state law that bans abortions even in cases of rape and incest and jails doctors who perform abortions.

In early September, the group sponsored a 30-second television ad that accused Michels of funding a group through his family foundation that uses cell phone data to track women when they are near abortion clinics.

In late September, the Alliance sponsored a 30-second ad that criticized Michels after media reports about lawsuits and claims of sexual harassment by female employees at his family-owned Michels Corp.

In mid-October, the group launched two ads attacking Michels a second time for sexual harassment complaints filed against his company and for his position on abortion.

One ad criticized Michels based on news reports about sexual harassment lawsuits filed by female employees at Michels's construction company. A second ad criticized Michels for his opposition to abortion with no exceptions and for using his family foundation to fund groups that use cell phone data to track women near abortion clinics.

A week before the election, the group sponsored another ad criticizing Michels for claims of sexual harassment against his family-owned construction company by female employees.

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*Spending figures are derived from financial reports the organization filed with the IRS.

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Future Forward USA Action

Posted: October 17, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Estimated Spending: $3.4 million

Future Forward USA Action is an organization based in Palo Alto, CA that promotes liberal causes and supports Democrats for office nationwide.

In mid-October, the group released identical online and TV ads - here - that attacked GOP candidate for governor Tim Michels for pushing "culture war" issues while praising incumbent Democrat Gov. Tony Evers for having concrete plans to improve Wisconsin's economy. A second ad slammed Michels for saying he would abolish the state Department of Public Instruction and use some public-school funding to pay for private schools.

During the final week before the Nov. 8 elections, the group released an ad that claimed Michels would sponsor a plan that would increase taxes for 73 percent of Wisconsinites while cutting taxes for the rich if he was elected governor.

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes PAC

Posted: October 19, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Oath • Spending

Human Rights Campaign Equality Votes PAC first registered with the state as a political action committee (PAC) at the end of September 2022. The PAC is sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, DC-based organization that champions LGBTQ+ rights. The Human Rights Campaign has a similarly named independent expenditure committee active at the federal level.

Three weeks before the November 8 election, the PAC reported spending nearly $39,000 for online advertising to support Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers against GOP challenger Tim Michels. The ad claimed that reelecting Evers would prevent extremist politicians from outlawing abortion and same-sex marriage and making it more difficult to vote.

Less than a week before the election, the group reported spending $55,000 for further online advertising to support Evers.

Nine days after the election, it reported it had spent $63 for yard signs to support Evers and Democratic incumbent Attorney General Josh Kaul.

The Human Rights Campaign previously made independent expenditures in the 2012 gubernatorial recall election with a different committee.

Last active election: 2012

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on A Better Wisconsin Together

Posted: October 27, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Estimated spending: $600,000

This is the issue ad arm of a Monona-based group that supports Democratic and left-leaning candidates for legislative and statewide offices.

Unlike the group’s independent expenditure arm of nearly the same name, A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund, phony issue ad groups do not have to report their fundraising and spending activities on elections to the state.

In late summer and fall 2022, the issue ad group sponsored numerous online ads praising incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who faced GOP challenger Tim Michels on Nov. 8, for his policies and spending on the state’s infrastructure, environment, education, health care, and tax relief for middle class Wisconsinites, among other things.

To view some of the group’s ads go – here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. (You may need to log into Facebook to see these ads.)

For additional ads by the group that praised Evers on educational, environmental, and health care policy and spending, go here.

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Wisconsin Alliance for Reform

Posted: October 27, 2022
Updated: March 22, 2024

Estimated spending: $600,000

This conservative phony issue ad group with a Waunakee post office box as an address was created about seven years ago by ex-GOP legislative and state Republican Party staff to support GOP and conservative candidates for legislative and statewide offices.

The group spent more than $3.2 million on electioneering activities in spring and fall elections between 2016 and 2020, making it one of the top outside spending groups in Wisconsin state elections in the past 12 years.

Despite its age, little is known about who runs this group other than Eric O’Keefe is one of its directors. O’Keefe formerly led the conservative Club for Growth and was also one of the targets of a John Doe investigation into alleged coordination between the Club and other electioneering groups with the campaign of former GOP Gov. Scott Walker.

In mid- to late September, the group first sponsored about in television ads to oppose Democrat Jessica Katzenmayer in the 5th Senate District, spending about $350,000.

In mid- to late October, the Alliance spent an estimated $180,000 on television ads to oppose Democratic candidate John Adams in the 74th Assembly District race.

In late October, the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform spent an estimated $70,000 sponsoring a radio ad and a mailing that criticized Laura Gapske, a Democratic candidate for the open 73rd Assembly seat, for some of her views and votes on education policy as a city of Superior school board member.

Last active election: 2020

Hijacking Campaign 2022 - Information on Volunteers for Agriculture

Posted: October 28, 2022
Updated: March 25, 2024

Oath • Spending

This is a political action committee (PAC) used by the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation to make independent expenditures and direct contributions to support legislative and statewide candidates. The federation is one of the state’s largest and most influential agricultural lobbying and advocacy groups.

The PAC first reported making independent expenditures just twelve days before the Nov. 8 election. It reported spending over $84,000 on billboards and online and radio advertising to support the Republican challengers for governor and attorney general, construction industry executive Tim Michels and Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney, respectively. They sought, unsuccessfully, to deny Democratic incumbents Gov. Tony Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul second terms.

Last active election: 2020

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