Conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley, who told WisPolitics in April she planned to seek reelection next year, raised nothing for her campaign over the first half of 2025, according to a new filing.
The lack of fundraising activity isn’t new. Bradley has only filed one report detailing $700 in donations raised since Jan. 1, 2017.
Still, speculation has picked up in conservative legal circles that Bradley is having second thoughts about running for a second 10-year term in spring 2026 amid a losing streak for conservative candidates in spring races.
Bradley didn’t return a message left with a political adviser seeking comment on her latest report.
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Meanwhile, 4th District Court of Appeals Judge Chris Taylor last week announced she had raised $583,933 over the six weeks after she formally launched her 2026 bid for the state Supreme Court.
Her campaign said that was a record for the July continuing fundraising period in the year before a Supreme Court election. By comparison, fellow liberal Susan Crawford detailed $461,274 raised on her July 2024 report ahead of her 10-point win in the Supreme Court race that following April. She pulled that initial haul in over a four-week period.
A Taylor spokesperson said the former Dem lawmaker has received support from Wisconsinites because of her career spent defending their rights and freedoms.
“Rebecca Bradley is apparently sitting back and hoping far-right billionaires and special interests flood the state with campaign cash, something voters will reject once again,” the spokesperson said.
Bradley yesterday filed a declaration with the Ethics Commission that she “did not receive contributions or other income, make disbursements, or incur obligations during the above mentioned filing period and that the cash balance remains the same as previously reported.”
She has regularly filed similar reports during her time on the bench, except for a July 2022 continuing report that showed two donations totaling $700 received that May. She listed $3,554 in the bank on that report after spending nearly $1.1 million in 2016 in her successful bid to retain her seat on the court.
While Bradley didn’t raise anything during the period, she amended her campaign registration statement with the Ethics Commission to add attorney Lane Ruhland as an additional contact with the title assistant treasurer. Ruhland served as treasurer for conservative Brad Schimel’s campaign this spring as he lost to Crawford.
