Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 16, 2023
Updated: August 19, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is an unregistered political committee run by the Milwaukee-based Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights group that provides legal and employment services and citizenship and language training to immigrant and low-wage workers. This is one of two committees the group has used to make independent expenditures since 2010. Between the two, Voces spent nearly $890,000 in Wisconsin state elections between 2010 and 2022.

At the time of the April 2023 election, the officially nonpartisan Wisconsin State Supreme Court had a 4-3 conservative majority, a majority placed in play by the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack.

Four candidates for a ten-year seat on the high court were pared down to two in the Feb. 21 nonpartisan primary. Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal, defeated former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, a conservative, in the April 4 election.

Protaseiwicz joined the court the following August, changing the 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal one.

With slightly less than three weeks remaining before the election, Voces reported spending just over $21,000 for radio ads backing Protasiewicz.

Voces spent over another $120,000 for radio and television advertising, campaign literature and staff before the campaign concluded.

Last active election: 2022

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 21, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is a liberal social justice group based in San Francisco, Calif., that is closely associated with the Tides Foundation, which was created in the mid-1970s. Tides’ advocacy includes human rights, immigration, labor, health, and environmental issues. This is the first Wisconsin state-level election for which Tides Advocacy has reported making independent expenditure since the 2020 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election, when it was first involved in Wisconsin elections.

At the time of the April 2023 election, the officially nonpartisan Wisconsin State Supreme Court had a 4-3 conservative majority, a majority placed in play by the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack.

A four-way nonpartisan primary - featuring two conservatives and two liberals - was held on Feb. 21 to determine which two candidates would vie for the ten-year seat in the April 4 election.

Two weeks before the April 4 election, Tides Advocacy reported it had about $77,300 on canvassing to support one of the liberals in the February primary, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell. Mitchell did not make it out of the primary.

The April election was won by the other liberal in the primary, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz.

Last active election: 2020

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 21, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

Family Friendly Action PAC is a super PAC registered with the Federal Elections Commission to make independent expenditures first active in 2020. The organization advocates for paid family leave, improved access to healthcare and higher wages. The 2022 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was the first time this group reported independent expenditures in a Wisconsin election.

At the time of the election, conservatives enjoyed a 4-3 advantage on the officially nonpartisan Wisconsin State Supreme Court, an advantage placed at risk by the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. The two top vote getters in the four-way February primary, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, faced each other in the April 4 election for the ten-year seat. Protasiewicz was supported by liberal groups and Kelly, originally appointed to the court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, by conservatives.

Protasiewicz won the election.

The group reported spending over $212,000 on campaign literature to support Protasiewicz starting in mid-March.

Last active election: 2022

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 23, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is an unregistered committee with a Shorewood address that matches the location of several businesses, including a UPS Store.

The group was created in January 2023 and filed paperwork in late March showing it sponsored independent expenditures to support Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in her bid for a 10-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a seat left open by the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack.

Protasiewicz, who ran as a liberal, defeated conservative former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in the April 4 election, shifting the high court from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal one.

The group initially spent nearly $103,000 on canvassing, outdoor advertising, and stickers to support Protasiewicz in late March.

In later filings with the state, it reported spending about another $19,600 in her support.

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted March 23, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is an unregistered committee located in Washington, D.C., that claims it was created to engage in legal disputes over congressional redistricting across the country.

The group, which is affiliated with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, says its mission “is to harness the power of people and the courts to dismantle unfair electoral maps and create a redistricting system based on democratic values.”

In late March 2023, the group filed paperwork with the state showing it spent nearly $4,800 on unspecified independent expenditures to support Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz in her bid for a 10-year seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the April 4 election. Six days after the election, the committee reported it had spent about an additional $12,500 in the race.

The group also paid for a website for All on the Line, which sponsored texts in late March that encouraged readers to vote for Protasiewicz in order to flip the balance of the court and protect individual rights. 

Protasiewicz, portrayed in her own campaign advertising and that of others, as the liberal in the race, faced former conservative Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly. The winner would determine the ideological balance of the high court, controlled at the time 4-3 by conservatives, because the winner would replace a retiring conservative justice.

Protasiewicz won the election and took her seat on the court the following in August.

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 24, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is a tax-exempt nonprofit group that promotes gun safety education and legislation through lobbying and community organizing.

Everytown for Gun Safety supports background checks on all gun sales, stronger gun trafficking and straw purchasing laws, and repealing gun industry immunity.

The group sponsored its first electioneering activities in Wisconsin state elections in the race for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court where conservative former Justice Dan Kelly faced liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz on the April 4 ballot.

The winner would determine the ideological balance of the court, controlled 4-3 by conservatives, because one of the conservative justices was retiring.

Protsiewicz won the election and assumed her seat on the court in August 2023.

About two weeks before the election, the group spent over $450,000 to sponsor a 30-second television ad that claimed Kelly was too extreme to sit on the high court because he opposes abortion rights and background checks on all gun sales to protect public health and safety. The group also reported spending about $240 for phone calls to oppose Kelly and support Protasiewicz.

A few days before the election, the group sponsored a 30-second broadcast ad that said Kelly wrote a decision as a former justice that made it easier for dangerous people to carry guns in public. The ad also said Kelly might vote to uphold Wisconsin's abortion ban in the future if he sits on the high court again.

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 24, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

This is a conservative Washington, D.C.-based group that was founded about 20 years ago by two former Republican congressmen to help elect future GOP congressional candidates.

Among the group’s past funders were rightwingers Charles and David Koch. FreedomWorks for America was also a key player in the tea party movement nearly 15 years ago and later aligned with causes that were central to Donald Trump’s 2020 failed reelection bid.

About two weeks before Wisconsin’s April 4 spring election, the group first spent nearly $20,000 on canvassing to support former conservative Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly’s bid for a 10-year seat on the high court.

Kelly, who was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2016 but lost an election in 2020 to keep the seat, faced Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal. The ideological balance of the court was at play in this election as the winner would replace a member of the court's 4-3 conservative majority.

Protasiewicz won the election and assumed her seat on the court the following August.

After its initial outlay, FreedomWorks spent about another $107,000 to support Kelly.

Last active election: 2019

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 25, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

Based in Portland, Oregon, VoteVets is an organization that seeks to advance the interests of military veterans through the promotion of progressive legislation and candidate endorsements. This is the first time it has been active in a Wisconsin state election.

At the time of the 2023 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election, conservatives held a 4-3 majority on the high court. With the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, the court's ideological balance was up for grabs.

Four candidates - two conservatives and two liberals - originally ran for the seat but a Feb. 21 primary reduced that number to two, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal, and former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, a conservative.

Protasiewicz defeated Kelly in the April 4 election and took her place on the high court in August, giving liberals a 4-3 majority on the court.

Less than two weeks before the election, VoteVets reported spending about $81,000 for phone calls and related activities and later reported spending yet another $40,000.

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 25, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

Based in Detroit, Michigan, the Committee to Protect Health Care is an organization of medical professionals that seeks to expand access to health care, including the protection of abortion rights. The organization also has a separate political action committee based in Chicago registered with the Federal Elections Commission. This is the first time this organization has been active in Wisconsin state elections.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz faced former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Judge Dan Kelly in the April 4 election for an open ten-year seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Conservatives held a 4-3 majority on the high court. With the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, the court's ideological balance was up for grabs. Protasiewicz was supported by liberals and Kelly, orginally appointed to the high court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, by conservatives.

Protasiewicz won the election.

Less than two weeks before the election, the committee reported spending $10,350 for newspaper ads to support Portasiewicz. Protaswiecz own campaign ads touted her support for abortion rights.

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.

Hijacking Campaign 2023 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2023

Posted: March 25, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

Founded in 1979 by Nan Aron, the Alliance for Justice is a coalition of liberal-leaning groups that works to promote the election and appointment of progressive and left-leaning judges. It was first and, before 2023, last active in a Wisconsin election with the 2020 State Supreme Court election when it operated under a slightly different name.

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz faced former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Judge Dan Kelly in the April 4 election for a ten-year seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Although the state's high court is officially non-partisan, at the time of the election conservatives enjoyed a 4-3 majority, a majority at risk with the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack. Protasiewicz was supported by liberals and Kelly, an appointee to the high court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, by conservatives. Protasiewicz won the election.

Less than two weeks before the election, the Alliance first reported spending nearly $26,000 in the race, mostly for online advertising opposing Kelly and supporting Protasiewicz.

Four days before the election, the group reported spending nearly another $25,000 for online advertising, emails and texts in the race.

Last active election: 2020

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.