Billionaire conservative donor Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply Co. in the Beloit area and her daughter have both given his campaign the maximum allowed by law.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly has reported raising about $130,000 in his campaign to return to the state’s highest court, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state.

He lags well behind the top two fundraisers in the race. Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, one of two left-wing candidates, has reported raising at least $1.8 million in her campaign so far and is actively running TV advertisements. The other right-wing candidate, Waukesha County Judge Jenifer Dorow, has reported raising more than $400,000 so far. Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, the other left-wing candidate, has reported raising more than $70,000 so far.

The candidates continue to raise funds, so these figures are rapidly growing.

Kelly has received $20,000 donations, the maximum allowed by state law, from the billionaire Diane Hendricks, the chairman and found of ABC Supply Co., who spends millions every election to elect Republicans. Her daughter Kim Hendricks has also donated the maximum to Kelly.

Experts expect the 2023 election for Wisconsin Supreme Court to be extremely expensive and run in the tens of millions of dollars. While state law limits what people and political action committees can donate directly to candidates, wealthy individuals can donate unlimited amounts to groups like Super PACs, which can spend unlimited amounts in attacking and supporting candidates in broadcast and online advertisements, as long as they don’t coordinate with the candidates.

The primary election on Tuesday, Feb. 21 will cut the field of four candidates down to a final two, who will advance to the general in April.

Below is a list of top donors to Kelly’s campaign.

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