A group that registered with the state just last week reported nearly $13 million in independent expenditures targeting Dem candidates, including a $9.3 million campaign going after Dem gubernatorial candidate David Crowley.

First Amendment LLC also reported pumping six-figure buys into 15 legislative races that are expected to determine control of the Assembly and Senate this fall.

The Virginia-based group didn’t immediately return an email from WisPolitics seeking details on its efforts, and a phone number listed on its filing with the state Ethics Commission wasn’t working.

The group, which registered with the state on Friday, shares the same address in Virginia as Make Liberty Win PAC. That group backs GOP candidates at the federal level, and its July continuing report listed more than $1.3 million in contributions from Young Americans for Liberty Inc. That Texas-based libertarian-conservative student activist organization was created in 2008 following Ron Paul’s unsuccessful presidential bid.

Last week, Fox News reported Scott Banister, a libertarian who was an early investor in PayPal, Uber and SpaceX, had committed $40 million to Make Liberty Win with plans to spend the money in state-level races, including those in Wisconsin.

The First Amendment LLC filing lists $9.3 million for literature distribution, direct mail, phone calls and digital ads opposing Crowley.

The rest of its report lists similar expenses in each of the legislative races the group is spending in. That includes:

  • $572,227 opposing Dem Trevor Jung, Racine’s public transit director, in the open 21st SD, where he faces Republican Jim Croft, a small business owner and business analyst for an energy company.
  • $534,687 opposing state Rep. Robyn Vining, of Wauwatosa, in the open 5th SD, where she faces Mike Roberts, a healthcare professional and small business owner.
  • $494,140 opposing Dem state Rep. Jenna Jacobson, of Oregon, in the 17th SD against state Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.
  • $379,766 opposing state Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, in the 31st SD against Republican Michele Magadance Skinner, a former TV reporter and member of the Eau Claire County Board.
  • $184,428 opposing Dem Dan Bukiewicz, the Oak Creek mayor, in the open 21st AD against Republican Dylan Pfaffenbach, a part-time legislative aide and college student.
  • $170,475 opposing Kevin Knoke, a teacher and veteran from Hudson, in the 30th AD against state Rep. Shannon Zimmerman, R-River Falls.
  • $169,975 opposing Jeremiah Fredrickson, the Elm Mound owner of Jeremiah’s Bullfrog Fish Farm, in the 92nd AD against Rep. Clint Moses, R-Menomonie.
  • $169,943 against Brandy Tollefson, a treasurer of the De Pere School Board, in the 88th AD against Rep. Ben Franklin, R-De Pere.
  • $164,119 against Ben Brist, an Army vet who lives in Greendale, in the 61st AD against Rep. Bob Donovan, R-Greenfield.
  • $158,581 against Rep. Ryan Spaude, D-Green Bay, in the 89th AD against Republican Bobby Lindsey, a retired police officer and veteran who lives in Green Bay.
  • $149,681 against state Rep. Steve Doyle, D-Onalaska, in the 94th AD against Republican Keith Purnell, who spent 30 years in the Army.
  • $135,649 against Dem Becky Nichols, who previously served 12 years on the Menasha Common Council and two years on the Winnebago County Board, in the 53rd AD against Republican David Daniels, a former small business owner and veteran.
  • $135,563 against John Kroll, a Marathon County supervisor, in the 85th AD against Rep. Pat Snyder, R-Weston.
  • $130,092 against Ben Gruber, a conservation warden from Arena, against Rep. Todd Novak, R-Dodgeville.
  • $118,320 against Rep. Joe Sheehan, D-Sheboygan, in the 26th AD against Republican John Belanger, a former Sheboygan alderman.