Wisconsin legislators accepted more than $10 million in special interest campaign contributions in 2023 with Republicans pulling in nearly $3 to every $1 raised by Democrats.
A Wisconsin Democracy Campaign review of campaign finance reports showed the legislature’s 132 members and four legislative campaign committees (LCCs) raised $10.45 million in corporate, political action committee (PAC), and individual contributions of $100 or more from about two dozen special interest groups. Those groups included business, manufacturing, labor, tourism, real estate, health care, construction, insurance, and agriculture.
Republicans, who control both houses by comfortable margins, accepted the lion’s share of those special interest contributions, pulling in $7.75 million compared with $2.7 million raised by Democrats.
The top contributing PACs and political committees in 2023 were the:
- Democratic Party of Wisconsin, $567,398;
- Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, $490,587;
- Republican Party of Wisconsin, $149,406;
- Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, $122,200;
- Realtors PAC – Wisconsin, $98,500.
Manufacturers and distributors were the top group of special interest contributors, doling out $2.5 million, or 24 percent of the special interest contributions raised by legislators. Political and ideological groups followed manufacturing interests, contributing $2.13 million or 20 percent of the special interest contributions raised by legislators and the four LCCs.
Topping the list of PAC, corporate, candidate, and party contribution recipients in 2023 were:
- Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, $1,303,459;
- Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, $1,104,261;
- State Senate Democratic Committee, $974,983;
- Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, $842,159;
- GOP Sen. Dan Knodl, of Germantown, $662,065.
Republican and Democratic legislative leaders use LCCs to milk special interests for campaign contributions, particularly in the first half of odd-numbered years like 2023 when the state’s biennial budgets are considered and approved.
The state budget is the most important bill the legislature considers, and the only legislative bill that must pass in some form. With that in mind, powerful and savvy special interests often press to have as much of their legislative wish lists as possible inserted into the budget bill.
To find out how much PACs and other political committees gave to elected officials as well as how much your legislator received, go to the Democracy Campaign’s PAC contribution search. The feature allows you to search PAC contributions by candidate, PAC name or special interest group for any period of time between 1993 and December 2023.
