Wis Democracy Campaign - 3 reasons the money records keep breaking Print
Commentary
Written by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Matt Rothschild   
Friday, 27 January 2023 15:46

money-corrupts-milwMADISON - As we continue to tally all the money in last November’s races here in Wisconsin, we’re finding that one record after another is being broken in almost every race.

For instance, in the race for attorney general, an astonishing $14 million was raised, with the outside groups actually outspending the candidates themselves, as we noted here:

Groups Outspent Candidates in Record $14M AG Race

And in the race for secretary of state, Doug La Follette was outspent by a 2-to-1 margin, and there was a lot of outside money in that one, too:

2022 Secretary of State Race Sets $1.1M+ Spending Record

In the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court race, we expect to see the old $5 million record shattered, as well.

These records are being broken for several reasons:

1. Citizens United and related U.S. Supreme Court decisions that opened the floodgates for big money and the SuperPACs.

2. The 2015 rewrite of Wisconsin’s campaign finance law by the Republicans in the Legislature and Scott Walker. It doubled the amount (to $20,000) that the super-rich can give in races for governor, state supreme court, attorney general, and secretary of state. And it tore down the ceiling on donations to the political parties, which used to be $10,000 and now the sky is the limit.

3. The hyper-partisan nationalization of our politics. With Wisconsin as one of the few purple states left, super-rich partisans from all over the country are throwing their money around here to affect the outcome of our elections.

This combination is drowning out the voices of almost all Wisconsinites and making a mockery of self-rule.

That’s why we’ll keep fighting for amending the U.S. Constitution to overturn Citizens United and its ugly relatives, and for tightening up Wisconsin’s own laws on campaign finance.

Only then could we each have something like an equal say in the political arena, which, after all, is what democracy is supposed to be about!

Thanks for supporting us in this effort.


matt-rothschild-2018Best,

Matt Rothschild
Executive Director
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P.S. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation, just click here. Or you can give the old-fashioned way and send a check, made out to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, to 203 S. Paterson St, Suite 100, Madison, WI 53703.