State party chairs on fundraising blitz in SCOWIS race & unifying base

NOW: State party chairs on fundraising blitz in SCOWIS race & unifying base
NEXT:

MADISON Wis. (CBS 58) -- Now that voters have narrowed the field in the state Supreme Court race, both parties are gearing up for a contentious and expensive race on Apr. 4.

State party leaders will become much more involved in the contest moving forward after Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who has support from Democrats, and Republican-backed former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, were the top two vote-getters in the four-way primary.

Unifying

Historically, Democrats have had an easier time unifying their party post-primaries. For Republicans, it tends to be a little more difficult especially when candidates are more bitter towards one another while fighting for a spot on the ballot.

Despite those divides, chairman of Republican Party of Wisconsin Brain Schimming said unifying their supporters won't be a problem.

"Primaries tend to be a little, a lot of back and forth," Schimming said. "But in terms of unifying folks going forward, I'm not worried about it. Things are coming together."

Ahead of Tuesday's election, some Republicans took issue with Kelly's refusal to endorse his conservative opponent Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow if she won -- but in the end the former Justice prevailed.

After her defeat, Dorow followed through on her commitment to back Kelly in an effort to unite the party.

"I ask all those who volunteered, contributed and voted for me to now get behind Daniel Kelly. I look forward to helping him win on April 4th," Dorow said in a statement.

During the 2022 midterms, GOP infighting was also an issue when members of the grassroots demanded changes to the long-standing tradition of endorsing a candidate at the party's annual state convention. Republican activists were successful in pushing for a "no endorsement" option which resulted in none of GOP candidates for governor receiving the party's nod.

It was a blow to former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who was the frontrunner at that time and was just shy of the 60% threshold needed to win the party's endorsement. Less than two months later, she lost to Republican Tim Michels during the August primary.

Frustrations also brewed as some members called on Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to resign, accusing the longest serving Speaker for not doing enough to investigate former President Donald Trump's baseless claims the election was rigged.

In a 50/50 state, anything can happen, and Schimming said he's aware of the pressure building as many want the party to win after a disappointing midterm result. He and others are working to regain momentum and build off Senator Ron Johnson's victory in November.

"It's natural pressure -- everyone wants to win, but we're going to be doing everything we can, and everyone is going to know what we're doing," Schimming said.

Fundraising

With abortion laws on the line in this race, massive amounts of cash will continue to flow in the battleground state. Some pro-choice and anti-abortion groups are already pledging to spend six to seven figures, according to the Associated Press.

State and national Planned Parenthood groups said their total would be more than $1 million to back Protasiewicz.

Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, one of the most influential groups in the anti-abortion movement, said it had committed “six figures” to helping elect Kelly during the primary campaign through mailers, phone calls and text messages.

Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said he's prepared to compete with outside money.

"We know Dan Kelly is talking about $20 million in special interest money to support him," Wikler said. "We want to make sure voters don't just hear from Republicans so we're going to work at every level to make sure we have the resources."

Leading up to Tuesday, $9.21 million was spent in the race with $4.61 million supporting liberal candidates and $4.60 million backing conservative candidates, according to a tally by AdImpact. Of the $9.2 million spent, more than $2.2 million was spent on negative ads attacking Dorow and $853,000 targeting Protasiewicz.

The record for the most expensive state Supreme Court race was set in 2020 with candidates spending $9.8 million, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Many predict Wisconsin will shatter state and national spending records in Supreme Court races. In 2004, Illinois set a record of $15 million.

"Everyone knows this election is essentially a referendum on whether abortions should be safe and legal or whether they should be criminally banned in Wisconsin, Wikler said. "It really is the central defining issue in this election."

Schimming acknowledged the advantage Democrats have in their ability to receive large donations under Wikler's leaderships. Democrats raised over $3.5 million over the first five weeks of the year, according to WisPolitics. Meanwhile, the state Republican party reported $56,061.

"Will be competitive internally in Wisconsin and also externally as well," Schimming said. "This will probably be the most expensive state supreme court race in state history."

The AP contributed to this report.

Share this article: