If Republicans flip the seat, they would have a 2/3 majority in the state Senate, bringing them close to overriding a Democratic governor’s veto.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

In the struggle for the retiring state Sen. Janet Bewley’s seat in northwestern Wisconsin, former state Assembly representative Romaine Quinn, a Republican, has outraised Democratic candidate Kelly Westlund by about $140,000, according to the Follow the Money database, which collects campaign finance data reported to the state of Wisconsin.

Quinn has raised about $380,000 compared to Westlund’s $240,000.

Both candidates for the 25th State Senate District seat can and likely will raise more money in the remaining days before the election.

Quinn received two $60,000 donations from the state Republican party on Oct. 28 and Nov. 1 to give him cash for the final few days.

Democrats are likely to respond, but Westlund had not reported to the state any last-minute cash infusions as of Friday.

Republicans hope to flip the seat in their quest to secure a veto-proof majority over the governor in the state legislature. The party needs ⅔ of seats in both houses to do so. The GOP is close right now, needing to flip five seats in the state Assembly and just one in the state Senate.

A state senator makes a salary of about $55,000 per year and receives a per diem payment of $155. State legislators are only in session a small amount of the year.

Quinn, who lives in Cameron, was elected to the state Assembly in 2014, and won three 2-year terms before leaving in 2020. Westlund is a small-business owner who lives in Ashland.

Individuals and political action committees can give a maximum of $2,000 to a candidate for state Senate. But political parties can accept an unlimited amount of campaign cash, and can donate an unlimited amount to candidates, due to a loophole in state campaign finance law.

The Wisconsin Republican Party has given Quinn more than $125,000. The state Democratic party has given Westlund more than $40,000.

Prominent donors to Quinn who gave him the maximum include the Tavern League of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Beer Distributors Association and the Wisconsin Farm Bureau. The political action committees of Alliant Energy, the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe, Koch Industries and Walmart have all given him $1,000.

Alisa Von Hagel, a political science professor at the UW-Superior, noted that Quinn’s fundraising has been helped by the fact that he held office in the state Assembly from 2015-2020.

“During this time, he had ample opportunity to build relationships with legislative colleagues, those in Republican party leadership, and donors in the surrounding community,” she said. “For example, many of his Republican legislative colleagues can be found in his donor list for this election cycle. This time in office allows him to take advantage of previously formed relationships, aiding his overall fundraising efforts.”

Prominent donors to Westlund who gave the maximum include the political action committees of many labor unions including the Wisconsin Federation of Teachers. Karla Jurvetson, a wealthy liberal donor from California and Lynde Uihlein, a Schlitz heir and philanthropist from Milwaukee, each gave Westlund the maximum $2,000.

Regarding Westlund lagging behind in fundraising, Von Hagel noted that the party of the president usually takes a hit – both at the national level, and within states.

The top 100 donors to Romaine Quinn, Republican

CONTRIBUTOR	CITY	STATE	OCCUPATION	TOTAL
CMTE TO ELECT A REPUBLICAN SENATE OF WISCONSIN	MADISON	WI		$67,000
WISCONSIN REPUBLICAN PARTY	MADISON	WI		$59,794
DOUGLAS COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY	SUPERIOR	WI		$20,000
BARRON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY	BARRON	WI		$5,000
BARRON COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY	RICE LAKE	WI		$5,000
PRICE COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY	PARK FALLS	WI		$2,250
SAWYER COUNTY REPUBLICAN PARTY	HAYWARD	WI		$2,075
WISCONSIN REALTORS ASSOCIATION	MADISON	WI		$2,000
WISCONSIN ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION	MADISON	WI		$2,000
WISCONSIN FARM BUREAU	MADISON	WI		$2,000
WISCONSIN BEER DISTRIBUTORS ASSOCIATION	MADISON	WI		$2,000
TAVERN LEAGUE OF WISCONSIN	MIDDLETON	WI		$2,000
OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL 139	PEWAUKEE	WI		$2,000
ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS OF WISCONSIN	MADISON	WI		$2,000
DEVIN LEMAHIEU CAMPAIGN CMTE	OOSTBURG	WI		$2,000
CITIZENS FOR TIFFANY	MERRILL	WI		$2,000
RENNES, TIM	PESHTIGO	WI	LONG TERM CARE-OWNER	$2,000
ROSAND, CRAIG	SUPERIOR	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
JOHNSON SR, MARK O	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
KOSER, THOMAS	RICE LAKE	WI	COMMUNICATIONS BUSINESS OWNER	$2,000
ANDRE JACQUE CAMPAIGN CMTE	DE PERE	WI		$2,000
TAXPAYERS FOR MARKLEIN	SPRING GREEN	WI		$2,000
CMTE TO ELECT JOAN BALLWEG	MARKESAN	WI		$2,000
JOHNSON, MARK JR	RICE LAKE	WI	MANUFACTURER	$2,000
KOSER, DIANE	RICE LAKE	WI	HOMEMAKER	$2,000
FONEPAC	MADISON	WI		$2,000
HOFFMAN, MARK	BLACK RIVER FALLS	WI	CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OWNER	$2,000
RAMIREZ, GUS	HARTLAND	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
JOHNSON, RACHEL	RICE LAKE	WI	HOMEMAKER	$2,000
JOHNSON, BARBARA B	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
MITCHELL, GEORGE	FOUNTAIN HILLS	AZ	CONSULTANT	$2,000
ROB STAFSHOLT CAMPAIGN CMTE	NEW RICHMOND	WI		$2,000
MITCHELL, SUSAN	FOUNTAIN HILLS	AZ	CONSULTANT	$2,000
MARY CZAJA FELZKOWSKI CAMPAIGN CMTE	MECHANICSBURG	PA		$2,000
RAMIREZ, AUSTIN	WAUKESHA	WI	CEO	$2,000
SALZWEDEL, PAUL	MARKESAN	WI	TAVERN OWNER	$2,000
ARMSTRONG FOR STATE ASSEMBLY	RICE LAKE	WI		$2,000
MLEJNEK, CHRIS	RICE LAKE	WI	CONTRACTOR	$2,000
HAINZ, DAVID	CHILI	WI	CUSTODIAN	$2,000
GEHL, MICHAEL	MILWAUKEE	WI	SELF EMPLOYED	$2,000
BURROW, MATT	WEST BEND	WI	CEO CATALYST CONSTRUCTION	$2,000
WURTZ, ROBERT	GATLINBURG	TN	RETIRED	$2,000
NORTHWESTERN WISCONSIN REALTORS	EAU CLAIRE	WI		$2,000
QUINN, ROMAINE ROBERT	CAMERON	WI		$1,896
HUMPHREY, LORIN	HILLSDALE	WI	EVENT VENUE OWNER	$1,875
MELTON, SCOTT E	SOLON SPRINGS	WI	SELF EMPLOYED	$1,500
MELTON, BRIAN	SPOONER	WI	CONSTRUCTION	$1,400
HENKEL, CONNIE	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$1,250
ALLIANT ENERGY	MADISON	WI		$1,000
BNSF RAILWAY CO	FORT WORTH	TX		$1,000
FOREST COUNTY POTAWATOMI	MADISON	WI		$1,000
KOCH INDUSTRIES	WICHITA	KS		$1,000
WALMART	BENTONVILLE	AR		$1,000
WISCONSIN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION	MADISON	WI		$1,000
WISCONSIN HEALTH CARE ASSOCIATION	MADISON	WI		$1,000
KATHLEEN M BERNIER CAMPAIGN CMTE	CHIPPEWA FALLS	WI		$1,000
FRIENDS OF VAN WANGGAARD	RACINE	WI		$1,000
FRIENDS OF WISCONSIN BEAR HUNTERS	MADISON	WI		$1,000
OLSON, STUART	SHELL LAKE	WI	RETIRED SCIENTIST	$1,000
WARMINGTON, GARY	HERMANTOWN	MN	BUSINESS EXECUTIVE	$1,000
ZAHRT, MICHAEL R	WAUSAU	WI	REALTOR	$1,000
LINDEMANN, JEFF	APPLETON	WI	BUSINESS EXECUTIVE	$1,000
DAN FEYEN CAMPAIGN CMTE	FOND DU LAC	WI		$1,000
RICHIE, TOM	RICE LAKE	WI	REAL ESTATE BROKER	$1,000
LAPCINSKI, JACK	RICE LAKE	WI	CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OWNER	$1,000
WAKEFIELD, LORELEI	BUTTERNUT	WI	CHIROPRACTOR	$1,000
BELL AMBULANCE INC EMPLOYEES	MILWAUKEE	WI		$1,000
INSURING AMERICA	CHICAGO	IL		$1,000
BOWE, ANGELA	EAU CLAIRE	WI	BUSINESS EXECUTIVE	$1,000
STROEBEL, DUANE	CEDARBURG	WI	STATE SENATOR	$1,000
NEUMANN, MARK	OCONOMOWOC	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
RYAN OWENS FOR WISCONSIN	MIDDLETON	WI		$1,000
HENKEL, PHIL	RICE LAKE	WI	FARMER	$1,000
HERRMAN, WALTER	BARRON	WI	FARMER	$1,000
NEUMANN, SUE	OCONOMOWOC	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
YOUNESZADEH, SAM	PALM BEACH	FL	CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER	$1,000
HERZING, HENRY	MILWAUKEE	WI	PRESIDENT	$1,000
MARSH, SUMMER D	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
MARSH, JAMES M	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
GREENFIELD, AMY	SPOONER	WI	PHYSICAL THERAPIST	$1,000
BOLDUC, PETE	SARONA	WI	INSURANCE SALES	$1,000
FROLIK, SCOTT	CAMERON	WI	CONTRACTOR	$1,000
WURZER, STEVE	BIRCHWOOD	WI	CONTRACTOR	$1,000
DAWSON, LAUREN	SUSSEX	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
DAWSON, BERNADETTE	RICHFIELD	WI	HOMEMAKER	$1,000
STERN, MICHAEL	COLGATE	WI	ELECTRICIAN	$1,000
DAWSON, JAMES	SUSSEX	WI	EMERITUS CFO OF LANNON STONE	$1,000
DAWSON, HEIDI	COLGATE	WI	DIRECTOR OF SALES	$1,000
DAWSON, HANS	RICHFIELD	WI	PRESIDENT OF LANNON STONE PRODUCTS	$1,000
LEE, JENNA	CLAYTON	WI	REGISTERED NURSE	$1,000
BUCHNER, CLINT	BIRCHWOOD	WI	HEAVY EQUIPMENT OPERATOR	$1,000
ELEVANCE HEALTH	WASHINGTON	DC		$1,000
BROST, JOE	THORP	WI	MANAGER/OWNER	$1,000
WARD, JOAN	LAKE GENEVA	WI	TAVERN OWNER	$1,000
GIERTZ, CORY	COLFAX	WI	BUSINESS EXECUTIVE	$1,000
KLUM, ADAM	READSTOWN	WI	TRUCK DRIVER	$1,000
SCHMIDT, STEVE	SAXON	WI	BEAR HUNTER	$1,000
REED, JOAN	PHILLIPS	WI	TAVERN OWNER	$1,000
ELLERBRUCH, ROBERT	BIRCHWOOD	WI	TAVERN OWNER	$1,000
HENDRICKS, KIM	JANESVILLE	WI	ATTORNEY	$1,000

The top 100 donors to Kelly Westlund, Democrat

CONTRIBUTOR	CITY	STATE	OCCUPATION	TOTAL
STATE SENATE DEMOCRATIC CMTE OF WISCONSIN	MADISON	WI		$31,312
WISCONSIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY	MADISON	WI		$12,166
BURNETT COUNTY DEMOCRATIC PARTY	SIREN	WI		$6,615
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF ELECTRICAL WORKERS / IBEW	WASHINGTON	DC		$2,000
INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS / IBT	WASHINGTON	DC		$2,000
WISCONSIN FEDERATION OF TEACHERS	HIGHLAND	WI		$2,000
WISCONSIN LABORERS DISTRICT COUNCIL	DEFOREST	WI		$2,000
WISCONSIN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION COUNCIL REGION 6	MADISON	WI		$2,000
SEIU WISCONSIN STATE COUNCIL	MADISON	WI		$2,000
JURVETSON, KARLA TINKLENBERG	LOS ALTOS	CA	PHYSICIAN	$2,000
UIHLEIN, LYNDE B	MILWAUKEE	WI	INVESTOR	$2,000
COSTERISAN, AUDREY	SIREN	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$2,000
BARRON COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL CMTE OF WISCONSIN	CHETEK	WI		$2,000
MILLER JR, JOHN W	FOX POINT	WI	PRINCIPAL	$2,000
SCHANNING, SJANA	IRON RIVER	WI	ECOLOGIST	$2,000
WOLNER, DANIEL	RICE LAKE	WI	PHYSICIAN-OPTHEMOLOGY	$2,000
ELECTRICAL WORKERS LOCAL 14	FALL CREEK	WI		$2,000
HAGGE JR, ROBERT S	HAZELHURST	WI	HISTORIAN	$2,000
PAGE, GLORIA	LOS ALTOS	CA	NOT EMPLOYED	$2,000
BREWSTER, RONALD	NEW AUBURN	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
KAVULICH, SUSAN	MIDDLETON	WI	RETIRED	$2,000
JANET BEWLEY CAMPAIGN CMTE	ASHLAND	WI		$2,000
PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT	EVANSTON	IL		$2,000
MANDEL, BARRY	MILWAUKEE	WI	REAL ESTATE DEVELOPER	$2,000
RYMER, KIMBERLY	BAYFIELD	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$2,000
LUBAR, MARIANNE S	RIVER HILLS	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,925
CHEQUAMEGON DEMOCRATIC PARTY	ASHLAND	WI		$1,510
LACY, SARA H	LA POINTE	WI	LAWYER	$1,500
GRETTENBERGER, SUSAN	LANSING	MI	PROFESSOR	$1,250
HAYES, MARY	DRUMMOND	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,250
CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE KIM BUTLER FOR WI	BALSAM LAKE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,250
EMILYS LIST	WASHINGTON	DC		$1,000
SHEET METAL WORKERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION / SMWIA	NORTH OLMSTED	OH		$1,000
OPERATING ENGINEERS LOCAL 139	PEWAUKEE	WI		$1,000
DOUGLAS COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CENTRAL CMTE OF WISCONSIN	SUPERIOR	WI		$1,000
JON ERPENBACH SENATE CMTE	MIDDLETON	WI		$1,000
BRINTON, DEMARIS	BAYFIELD	WI	OWNER	$1,000
FLORSHEIM, JOHN	MILWAUKEE	WI	BUSINESS	$1,000
PATENAUDE, JEANNE	BUTTERNUT	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
ANDERSON, PATRICIA	CABLE	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
ANDERSON, RONALD	CABLE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,000
LUBAR, MADELEINE KELLY	MILWAUKEE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,000
REITZ, ANN	PORT WING	WI	MEDICAL DOCTOR	$1,000
AGNE, DANIEL	RICE LAKE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,000
MCCOMAS, ANNE W	PARK FALLS	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,000
HORNING, MATTHEW	ASHLAND	WI	FAMILY DOCTOR	$1,000
MURTHA, THOMAS	MINNEAPOLIS	MN	WRITER	$1,000
ABERT, GRANT D	MADISON	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$1,000
HASMAN, ROBERT	CUMBERLAND	WI	TEACHER	$1,000
ANDERSON, AARON	SUPERIOR	WI	OWNER	$1,000
STOLL, JO	MADISON	WI	RETIRED	$1,000
PAGELS, JULIE DAVIES	MASON	WI	FORESTRY TECHNICIAN	$1,000
FUENTES, BRUCE JAMES	SOUTH RANGE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$950
LAFANS, ELLEN	CABLE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$850
CHRISTOPHER J LARSON CAMPAIGN CMTE	MILWAUKEE	WI		$750
SHERMAN, GARY	PORT WING	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$750
BETH MEYERS CAMPAIGN CMTE	BAYFIELD	WI		$750
SAARINEN, KAREN	IRON RIVER	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$750
PETROSKE, AARON ANDERSON	SUPERIOR	WI	OWNER	$750
VALDEZ, REBECCA	ASHLAND	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$700
THOMPSON, LINDA A	RICE LAKE	WI	N/A-HOMEMAKER	$650
RYDBERG, GEORGE	ASHLAND	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$641
LEWIS, DEBRA	ASHLAND	WI	MAYOR	$620
LISI, GERRY	RICE LAKE	WI	RETIRED	$600
NEWCOMER, SUZANNE	CABLE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$600
WISCONSIN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION COUNCIL REGION 1	RICE LAKE	WI		$600
CAHILL MO	CHICAGO	IL	NOT EMPLOYED	$577
DEMAIN, PAUL	HAYWARD	WI	EDITOR	$525
SEBRANEK, PATRICK	MADISON	WI	WRITER	$525
HAHN, MARY	PHILLIPS	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$525
PAGE, CARL	SAN FRANCISCO	CA	RETIRED	$500
HOEY, JOSEPH	MADISON	WI	LEGISLATIVE AID	$500
COSTERISAN, RICHARD L	SIREN	WI	RETIRED	$500
LUDWIG, JOHN	SUPERIOR	WI	RETIRED	$500
DOUGHTY, JANE	MADISON	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
BELKNAP, MARK	ASHLAND	WI	CONSULTANT	$500
BALDWIN, TAMMY SUZANNE GREEN	MADISON	WI	SENATOR	$500
SMITH, SHIRLEY	PHILLIPS	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
CHASE, PAUL	RICE LAKE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
HAMILTON, JONATHAN	IRON RIVER	WI	OWNER	$500
MCKINNEY, SCOTT	CABLE	WI	REALTOR	$500
EHRHARDT, JEFFREY	MELLEN	WI	RETIRED	$500
NEIDER, JUDY	BARNES	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
FOWLES, DON	IOWA CITY	IA	PROFESSOR EMERITUS	$500
JOHNSON, LATONYA ANN	MILWAUKEE	WI	SENATOR	$500
ABRAMS, WENDY DAVIDA	HIGHLAND PARK	IL	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
ELKINS, ROBERT	PHILLIPS	WI	RETIRED	$500
HOCHSTEIN, GLORIA	EAU CLAIRE	WI	RETIRED	$500
TECHTMANN, CATHERINE ANN	PENCE	WI	EDUCATOR	$500
SCHANNING, KEVIN F	IRON RIVER	WI	PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY	$500
NELSEN, LANCE	SUPERIOR	WI	ATTORNEY	$500
MCKINNEY, STACEY	CABLE	WI	REALTOR	$500
PAGE, BARBARA	PALO ALTO	CA	VICE PRESIDENT	$500
EDWARDSEN, PATRICIA	RICE LAKE	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
LEE, MONICA	ASHLAND	WI	PHYSICIAN	$500
EINSPANIER, MARILYN T	IRON RIVER	WI	OWNER CABIN RENTAL BUSINESS	$500
KREITLOW, SHARLENE	CHIPPEWA FALLS	WI	EDITOR	$500
PAINE, JIM	SUPERIOR	WI	MAYOR	$500
HONG, FRANCESCA	MADISON	WI	NOT EMPLOYED	$500
MURTHA, THOMAS	BAYFIELD	WI	WRITER	$500

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.