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

Posted: March 27, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

Wisconsin Right to Life is the state’s largest anti-abortion advocacy, lobbying, and electioneering group.

Right to Life uses this PAC and an independent expenditure committee to sponsor electioneering activities that support Republican and conservatives candidates and smear Democratic in legislative and statewide races.

In late March, the group first spent about $5,900 on independent expenditures to support former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly’s bid to return to the high court in the April 4 general election. Kelly, a conservative appointed to the high court in 2016 to fill a vacancy but voted off the court in 2020, faced Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a liberal.

The ideological balance of the supreme court was at stake as the winner would replace retiring Justice Patience Roggensack, a member of the court's 4-3 conservative majority.

Protasiewicz won the election and joined the high court the following August giving liberals a new 4-3 majority on the court.

Five days before the election, the PAC reported spending over an additional $13,000 for phone calls to support Kelly and the day after the election, it reported it had spent nearly another $4,300 for online advertisements supporting his campaign.

 Last active election: 2022

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

Posted: April 1, 2023
Updated: March 26, 2024

Spring: Oath • Spending

WEAC Region 7 PAC, formerly called the Southeast United Educators PAC, is the political action committee (PAC) for the Madison regional branch of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state's largest teachers union. WEAC and its various regional political action committees usually support Democratic candidates for legislative and statewide offices through outside electioneering activities and direct PAC and conduit contributions.

Four days before the April 4 spring election, the PAC reported spending nearly $1,200 for postcards to support Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

At the time of the election, conservatives controlled the officially nonpartisan high court with a 4-3 majority, a majority put in play by the retirement of conservative Justice Patience Roggensack.

Protasiewicz defeated former Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, originally appointed to the high court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, for the ten-year open seat in the April 4 election.

Protasiewicz officially joined the court the following August switching the court to a 4-3 liberal majority.

Another WEAC affiliate, WEAC Region 6 PAC, made independent expenditures in the race.

Last active election: 2021

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

Posted: July 10, 2023
Updated: March 25, 2023

Spring: Oath • Spending

Based in New Lisbon, this is the Juneau county branch of the Republican party of Wisconsin.

In early July 2023, the party first reported that it had spent a little over $800 on radio ads to support former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly in the April 2023 election for the high court. Kelly, a conservative first appointed to the court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, lost to liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz. When she joined the court in August of that year, the officially non-partisan court shifted from a 4-3 conservative majority to a 4-3 liberal one.

This is the first time the Democracy Campaign has recorded this party making independent expenditures in a Wisconsin state election.