The Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee took in $9.3 million during the nearly one-month preelection period, while the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee reported $6.4 million in receipts.
It is an escalation of resources compared to the 2022 cycle, when the preelection period was three weeks shorter. With GOP-drawn maps still in place two years ago, RACC reported $1.5 million in receipts for that reporting period, while ADCC tallied $1.1 million.
Since then, the liberal majority on the state Supreme Court has thrown out the lines used in 2022, resulting in GOP lawmakers and Dem Gov. Tony Evers agreeing to new maps for this fall that open a path for Dems to flip control of the Legislature.
Both numbers in the most recent reporting period were driven by large donations and candidates in top races sending money to the caucuses, often as part of coordinated efforts on mail and ads.
ADCC reported $5.1 million in transfers from the state Dem Party, part of the more than $7 million it received from committees during the period. The committee contributions included $1.7 million from Assembly candidates, while its top individual donor was Barry Munger, of New York, who gave $1.2 million. He was identified in the report as not employed; for past FEC contributions, he’s listed his occupation as a photographer.
The caucus spent $9.1 million during the preelection period and had $3.8 million in the bank as of Oct. 21.
Those expenses included $8.1 million on TV buys. The report didn’t specify which candidates the ads backed.
RACC, meanwhile, listed a $1.45 million donation from Illinois businesswoman Liz Uihlein and $960,000 from Beloit businesswoman Diane Hendricks. The caucus also received $3.7 million from Assembly candidates.
The caucus spent $7.8 million and had nearly $4.9 million in the bank as of Oct. 21.
Those expenditures included $3.4 million in in-kind donations for Assembly GOP candidates.
The caucus listed another $3.9 million in TV ad buys that didn’t detail which candidates benefited from the spots.