Hijacking Campaign 2025 | Independent Expenditures | Issue Ads | Candidates | Campaign 2025
April 3, 2025
Based in New York City, Stand Up America was started in 2016 after Donald Trump was first elected president. Operating as a non-profit, it seeks to expand voting rights, reduce the influence of money in politics and promote a variety of other progressive causes. Stand Up America’s founder Sean Eldridge is a former Democratic candidate for congress and activist. The group made over $738,000 in independent expenditures opposing Trump in the 2024 election. It was first, and last, active in a Wisconsin state election in 2023.
The day after the 2025 Wisconsin State Supreme Court election on April 1 st, Stand Up America reported for the first time that it had spent about $3,100 in the race for a series of social media posts starting at the beginning of March. The group supported the winning candidate, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford. Crawford was running against Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel for an open seat on the state’s highest court. Although the court is officially nonpartisan, support for the two divided along partisan lines, with the state Democratic party and Democratic leaning groups supporting Crawford and the state GOP and Republican leaning groups backing Schimel, himself a former Republican office holder. Liberals gained a 4-3 majority in the 2023 election; a majority it will maintain – barring any unexpected vacancies – for at least three more years.
Last active election: 2023
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.