Wisconsin for Falk

Posted: March 9, 2012
Updated: January 15, 2014

Oath • Spending

Funded by large labor unions, this corporation was created in March 2012 to support former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's bid for the Democratic nomination to run against incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker in the June 2012 recall election. The corporation came complete with 18 field offices across the state for electioneering activities and a 527 organization. 

Two labor unions funding the group were the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - the nation's largest public employee labor union - and the Wisconsin Education Association Council - the state's largest teachers union. Both unions endorsed Falk and provided office space and other resources to the group. Falk lost to fellow Democrat Tom Barrett in the May 8 recall primary. 

Governor Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four GOP Senate seats faced recall contests on June 5, 2012 because of the governor's successful 2011 effort to restrict public employee collective bargaining rights.

Wisconsin for Falk reportedly spent $1.6 million in March in Green Bay, La Crosse, Madison, Milwaukee, Wausau and other television markets to air 30-second ads - here, here and here - that criticized Walker for cutting state aid to public education and slashing public employee collective bargaining rights.  At least some of those advertising costs were paid for with a $290,000 contribution from AFSCME's Washington D.C.-based 527 group March 7.

In April, it sponsored 30-second television ads - here and here - in the same five major TV markets listed above to claim Falk, a former Dane County executive, saved taxpayers millions of dollars when she negotiated contracts with county employee unions, and criticize Walker for giving $2.3 billion in tax breaks to corporations while cutting $1.1 billion in state aid education.  Wisconsin for Falk also invited people to its three Madison field offices on Earth Day to participate in telephone and door-to-door canvassing activities to support Falk. 

The corporation's last 30-second television ad shortly before the May 8 recall primary criticized Walker for poor job creation numbers since he took office, repealing parts of the state equal pay act and restricting public employee collective bargaining rights.

Two weeks before the June election, the group reported spending $4.4 million on outside electioneering activities, including $3.4 million on television advertising.

This organization is registered with the Government Accountability Board following the January 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC as a corporation making independent disbursements.

Wisconsin Right to Life PAC

Posted: February 23, 2012
Updated: January 9, 2014

Fall: Oath • Spending
Recall: Oath • Spending

This statewide, anti-abortion advocacy group has long engaged in outside electioneering activities in legislative and statewide campaigns typically by making independent expenditures in numerous Senate and Assembly races to support Republicans and oppose Democrats.

Fall Elections

The group registered to make independent expenditures on behalf of Republican candidates in dozens of legislative races but never reported any spending. Instead all reported spending in the fall elections was done through its corporate entity.

Recall Elections

Wisconsin Right to Life spent $9,168 on independent expenditures to support Republican Governor Scott Walker, Lietenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and GOP candidates in the four targeted Senate races. 

Last active election: Recall and Special Election 2011

Planned Parenthood Action Fund

Posted: February 14, 2012
Updated: January 10, 2014

Oath • Spending

This committee is housed in the national office of Planned Parenthood in New York and first got involved directly in Wisconsin politics in 2004.

The committee indicated it intended to get involved in several Wisconsin races in the 2010 elections but never reported any activity.

In February 2012 the Action Fund indicated spending on a website in opposition to Governor Scott Walker although no oath of independent disbursements was then on file with the Government Accountability Board.

Last active election: 2010

Conservative Wisconsin

Posted: February 10, 2012
Updated: May 18, 2017

Oath • Spending

Conservative Wisconsin was started in April 2011 to oppose recall efforts against Governor Scott Walker. The PAC ceased operation by January 2013.

Its treasurer and founder was Lauren Stephens, an employee of On the Go Legal whose LinkedIn profile at the time listed "eliminating liberalism" among her interests.  She also intended to run against longtime Sixth District Republican Congressman Thomas Petri for the party's nomination in the 2012 elections but did not do so.

In February 2012 Conservative Wisconsin indicated it intended to independently support all Republican incumbents then threatened with potential recall elections. The group never reported any such spending.

ProgressWorks.org

Posted: February 10, 2012
Updated: May 19, 2017

Oath • Spending

ProgressWorks.org's self-described mission is to provide logistical support for progressive political and issue campaigns. (As of May 16, 2017 the progressworks.org domain appears to be owned by an oganization in Maine that concentrates on job creation.)

In 2011 it supported Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg in her bid to defeat incumbent Justice David Prosser by portraying a vote for her as a way to oppose Governor Scott Walker's policies, especially his successful effort to slash public employee collective bargaining rights.

In February 2012 the organization's PAC filed an oath of independent disbursements with the Government Accountability Board in opposition to Republican Governor Scott Walker and in support of former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's candidacy for governor the event of a 2012 recall election. Falk lost in the May 2012 Democratic primary to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Walker's opponent in the 2010 election. Subsequently, the PAC did not report any independent spending in the 2012 recall elections.

Opponents of Governor Scott Walker's 2011 legislation restricting public employee collective bargaining rights forced recall elections for the governor, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, and four Republican senators in June 2012.

Last active election: 2011 Supreme Court

RGA Wisconsin PAC

January 30, 2012

Oath • Spending

Started in 2010 under the name RGA Wisconsin 2010 PAC, this is the local political action committee of the Republican Governors Association (RGA). The RGA  represents GOP governors and spends millions of dollars nationwide on outside electioneering activities in support of Republican candidates for governor.

RGA Wisconsin PAC (under its old name) reported spending nearly $3.5 million in Wisconsin's 2010 election for governor.

Last active election: 2010

Joseph T. Lang

December 29, 2011

Oath • Spending

Private citizen residing in Spencer, Wisconsin who registered as a PAC in December for the purpose of making independent expenditures in support of Governor Scott Walker in the event of a recall election. He appears to have made modest contributions to state candidates in the past.

The treasurer is listed as Tom Lang, also of Spencer and the owner of Lang Lumber.

We Are Wisconsin PAC

Posted: December 29, 2011
Updated: January 10, 2014

Oath • Spending

This political action committee was formed in early 2011 by a coalition of unions intent on recalling Republican Governor Scott Walker and GOP state senators who supported his 2011 plan to slash public employee collective bargaining rights. This PAC led all outside electioneering groups with nearly $10.8 million in independent expenditures in the first round of recall elections in the summer of 2011 involving nine state senators.

One of the unions supporting the 2012 recall elections against Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four GOP state senators was the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees whose Washington D.C.-based 527 group made two contributions to the PAC totaling $160,000 in late February and early March.

This PAC did not report any spending in the 2012 recalls, leaving all such spending to its corporate arm, We Are Wisconsin Political Fund.

Last active election: 2011

Greater Wisconsin Political Independent Expenditure Fund

Posted: December 29, 2011
Updated: January 14, 2014

Fall: Oath • Spending
Recall: Oath • Spending
 

This is a corporation created in 2010 to make independent expenditures and an affiliate of a group most commonly known as the Greater Wisconsin Committee.  Greater Wisconsin, which discloses little of its fundraising, gets the bulk of its cash from labor unions and Democratic ideological groups that are also supported by wealthy business interests.

Greater Wisconsin's entities, which also include a political action committee, an issue ad group and a 527 organization, collectively spent an estimated $24.25 million on independent expenditures and phony issue ads between 2006 and June 2012 in partisan and nonpartisan elections, backing Democrats in the former case.  This spending includes an estimated $10.75 million in the 2011 and 2012 recall elections involving the governor, lieutenant governor and 13 state Senate seats.  The recall elections were a response to passage of Republican Governor Scott Walker's 2011 plan to slash public employee collective bargaining rights.

Fall Elections

Greater Wisconsin corporation spent more than $1.2 million to support Democrats in 10 Assembly races and two Senate contests.  The bulk of the group's spending - just over $1 million - from mid-September onward was for television and online advertising in the targeted Senate 18th and 30th District races.

The group sponsored a 30-second television ad in early October against Republican challenger Rick Gudex in the 18th Senate District.  The ad claimed Gudex's policies would have negative impacts on women's health and reproductive rights.  Another ad accused Gudex of opposing common forms of birth control and emergency contraception for rape victims and supporting restrictions on stem cell research. 

Greater Wisconsin also sponsored a 30-second television ad that accused Republican challenger John Macco in the 30th Senate District of past failures to pay his income and property taxes on time.

Recall Elections

After recall petition efforts began against Walker, Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four state senators, and before recall elections had been approved, Greater Wisconsin reportedly spent $800,000 in December 2011 to air three versions of a television ad featuring interviews with people identified as teachers, parents and grandparents who said Walker slashed state aid to education and hurt the quality of Wisconsin's public schools in order to pay for tax cuts and other breaks for corporations and wealthy special interests.  At least one version of the ad ran in the Green Bay and Wausau areas.

A week before the June 5, 2012 recall elections, the corporation had spent more than $3 million - nearly all of it on television advertising largely in the Eau Claire/La Crosse, Green Bay and Wausau television markets.

Greater Wisconsin sponsored a 30-second television ad that claimed Walker deceived Wisconsin by slashing state aid to public education and then giving $1billion in tax breaks to large corporations, and that he was not forthcoming when asked about a secret John Doe probe by the Milwaukee County district attorney into activities during his stint as Milwaukee County executive.

The group also sponsored ads - here and here - that attacked Walker for Wisconsin being last among the 50 states in job creation since he took office and for cutting health care programs that serve poor, elderly and disabled state residents.

Greater Wisconsin also sponsored a 30-second ad that criticized Republican Senator Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls for supporting cuts to health care and education while people continue to struggle to find jobs.  Moulton's is one of four GOP Senate seats that also face recall elections June 5.  Another 30-second ad attacked GOP Senator Van Wanggaard of Racine, another recall target, for supporting big tax cuts, big corporations and big donors at the expense of state aid to education.

Days before the election, the 527 group sponsored a mailing to some residents in Stoughton, Janesville, Madison and other parts of Wisconsin that drew fire because it identified whether the recipients and their neighbors voted in the 2010 and 2008 general elections and urged people to contact their neighbors and tell them to vote in the recall elections. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board released a statement in response to the large number of complaints received on this mailer.

Last active election: Recall 2011

This organization is registered with the Government Accountability Board following the January 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. FEC as a corporation making independent disbursements.

Club for Growth Wisconsin

Posted: December 29, 2011
Updated: January 17, 2014

Estimated Spending: $100,000

The Club for Growth Wisconsin is the state arm of the national Club for Growth which supports conservative Republican candidates for federal office.  The state group refuses to disclose how much it spends on negative electioneering activities, but the Democracy Campaign estimates it doled out more than $10 million on Wisconsin elections from 2007 through 2011, including $9 million in the first round of recall races involving nine state senators in summer 2011.

The group is run from a Sun Prairie address by long-time GOP political operative R.J. Johnson, and Deb Jordahl who is routinely identified as the outfit's spokeswoman.

Club for Growth spent $63,140 on television ads in March in the Green Bay and Wausau television markets, according to ad buy documents obtained by Gannett Wisconsin Media.  Earlier,  the group sponsored a 60-second radio ad in December 2011 that condemned a second round of recall efforts underway against Republican Governor Scott Walker and four state senators.

Last active election: Recall 2011