Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's press releases and special reports cover issues central to our mission, including campaign fundraising, political corruption and more.
2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012
2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1997-1999
May 30, 2018
Outside groups supporting Democrats are pouring money into two upcoming legislative special elections in Wisconsin.
The elections in the 1st Senate and 42nd Assembly districts are scheduled June 12 to fill the vacant seats.
May 29, 2018
Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) brags that it won victories “too numerous to mention” from the Republican-dominated legislature last session.
May 24, 2018
Five drug makers accused of stoking the nation’s opioid epidemic in lawsuits filed by Wisconsin counties contributed more than $39,000 to Wisconsin legislative and statewide candidates.
More than three-quarters of Wisconsin’s 72 counties sued the pharmaceutical manufacturers last year, accusing them of fraudulently marketing painkillers that led to an epidemic of addiction and overdose deaths that has cost the counties millions of dollars in social service, law enforcement, and health care costs.
May 23, 2018
The state is investigating the release of an estimated 10 million gallons of sludge into the Trempealau River by a sand mining company whose owner is a large Republican Party contributor.
The company, Hi-Crush Proppants, of Houston, Tex., said it released the muddy water in a holding pond on Monday to free a bulldozer driver who had slipped into the pond. The water and bright orange sediment flowed into nearby farm fields and a tributary and into the river.
May 15, 2018
A company owned by a major donor to Republican Gov. Scott Walker was named the chief planner for the taxpayer-subsidized Foxconn manufacturing plant.
Foxconn said Monday that the Hammes Co., in Milwaukee, was chosen to be the lead developer for the 2,900-acre project. The company is led by Jon Hammes, who is Walker’s campaign finance chairman for his November reelection bid. Hammes was also finance chairman for Walker’s brief 2015 GOP presidential campaign.
May 10, 2018
The state Republican Party is backing a newcomer over a GOP Assembly lawmaker in next week's primary for a special election in the 1st Senate District.
May 7, 2018
A state permit to allow an out-of-state company to destroy a rare wetland in order to build a frac sand mine in western Wisconsin has been invalidated by a judge.
May 4, 2018
Our democracy is at a “historic turning point,” said Nancy MacLean, the author of “Democracy in Chains,” last night in Madison, where she was the keynote speaker at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign’s annual celebration.
April 26, 2018
Developers and other special interests were behind a new state law that cuts the amount of storm water runoff that local governments may regulate.
April 23, 2018
A byproduct from making iron and steel, known as slag, is no longer considered solid waste in some cases under a change in state law backed by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC).
April 20, 2018
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has compiled a list of the top 50 donors to Democratic state candidates in Wisconsin and the top 50 donors to Republican state candidates from 2008-2017 along with each party's respective legislative campaign committees.
April 20, 2018
A new state law approved by the GOP-controlled legislature and Republican Gov. Scott Walker prevents communities from regulating drones.
April 17, 2018
A bill backed by landlords that imposes restrictions on rental inspections conducted by local governments was signed into law on Monday by GOP Gov. Scott Walker.
April 17, 2018
Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill into law on Monday that prohibits local governments from passing or enforcing numerous employment rules.
April 13, 2018
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’s ties to a title loan company in Georgia have put him in hot water.
April 13, 2018
A group that raises money to support Democratic candidates for governor around the country has already reserved more than $500,000 in television time for the fall elections.
April 11, 2018
A dozen special interest groups spent more than $3 million on outside electioneering activities in this year’s Wisconsin Supreme Court race, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review found.
April 9, 2018
A group that raises tens of millions of dollars each year from wealthy special interests to support GOP gubernatorial candidates nationwide has booked $5.1 million in ads to support Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s reelection.
April 5, 2018
A GOP bill that prohibits state and local governments from boycotting Israel was signed into law by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
April 4, 2018
Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill on Tuesday sought by big business campaign contributors that slashes the amount of time people can sue for numerous injuries.
April 4, 2018
When Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill on Tuesday that removes most abortion coverage for state and local public workers, he was acting on behalf of anti-abortion groups that have spent more than $200,000 to elect Republicans over the last eight years.
April 2, 2018
(This profile updates information and figures in a previous August 2015 feature on RGA. This profile was updated in August 2021.)
This Washington, D.C.-based group, whose mission is to elect Republican candidates for governor nationwide, is one of the top-spending outside electioneering groups in Wisconsin.
March 30, 2018
Special interest groups have spent about $2.2 million on outside electioneering activities to support and attack the candidates in next week’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election, according to a preliminary review by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
March 28, 2018
Good morning, Mr. Chairman, and distinguished Senators. It’s nice to see you all again.
I’m Matt Rothschild, the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which, since 1995, has been advocating for clean, open, and transparent government.
I’m here today to oppose, in the strongest terms possible, the naked partisan power play that is going on right now.
March 28, 2018
Executives with about a dozen papermakers, utilities, and other companies accused of dumping excessive pollution into Wisconsin waterways in 2016 and 2017 are also generous campaign contributors in most cases.