Herb Kohl, Lynde Uihlein, Karla Jurvetson and several members of the Milwaukee-area Lubar family have all given the maximum.
By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT
So far, Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz is blowing away the other three candidates for Wisconsin Supreme Court when it comes to fundraising.
Protasiewicz raised more than $900,000 in 2022, giving her a huge headstart. The two right-wing candidates didn’t even announce their campaigns until late in 2022.
Protasiewicz reported raising at least another $900,000 in so far 2023.
By comparison, two of the three other candidates reported no fundraising in 2022. Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow, one of the two right-wing candidates in the race, reported raising more than $400,000 so far in 2023. Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, the other right-wing candidate in the race, reported raising more than $100,000 so far in 2023. Dane County Judge Everett Mitchell, the other left-wing candidate in the race, has reported raising more than $70,000 in 2023 so far.
The candidates continue to raise funds, so these figures are rapidly growing.
Protasiewicz has received $20,000 — the maximum allowed by law — from several individuals including former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, as well as Schlitz-heir and major Democratic donor Lynde Uihlein of Milwaukee. Several members of the wealthy Milwaukee-based Lubar family have made the maximum donation as well, as has the major national Democratic donor Karla Jurvetson from California.
The primary election on Tuesday, Feb. 21 will cut the four candidates down to a final two, who will advance to the general in April.
Experts expect the election 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, 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.
Below is a list of top donors to Protasiewicz’s campaign.
| DONOR | AMOUNT | OCCUPATION | CITY | STATE |
| Burns, Timothy W. | $20,000 | ATTORNEY | Middleton | Wisconsin |
| Connell, William | $20,000 | RETIRED | Lake Forest | Illinois |
| Flessas, Julie | $20,000 | ATTORNEY | Mequon | Wisconsin |
| Haselow, Justine | $20,000 | RETIRED | Edina | Minnesota |
| Haselow, Robert | $20,000 | MD, PRESIDENT | Edina | Minnesota |
| Jurvetson, Karla | $20,000 | PHYSICIAN | Los Altos | California |
| Lainer, Lee | $20,000 | RETIRED | Los Angeles | California |
| Lainer, Luis | $20,000 | RETIRED | Los Angeles | California |
| Lubar, Madeleine | $20,000 | COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Lubar, Marianne | $20,000 | HOMEMAKER | River Hills | Wisconsin |
| Lubar, Sheldon | $20,000 | CHAIRMAN | River Hills | Wisconsin |
| Lubar, Susan | $20,000 | president | Wisconsin | |
| Messinger, Alida | $20,000 | COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER | Afton | Minnesota |
| Rolfs, Pamela | $20,000 | ATTORNEY | Middleton | Wisconsin |
| Sontheim, Gwendolyn | $20,000 | INVESTOR | Minnetonka | Minnesota |
| Stryker, Pat | $20,000 | PHILANTHROPIST | Fort Collins | Colorado |
| Kohl, Herb | $20,000 | philanthropist | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Pigott, Gaye | $20,000 | homemaker | Seattle | Washington |
| Simons, Elizabeth | $20,000 | retired | Atherton | California |
| Eychaner, Fred | $20,000 | philanthropist | Chicago | Illinois |
| Heising, Mark William | $20,000 | investor | Atherton | California |
| Uihlein, Lynde | $20,000 | investor | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Flessas, Julie | $20,000 | attorney | Mequon | Wisconsin |
| Beck, Andrew | $19,000 | not employed | Cutchogue | New York |
| WI PEOPLE Conference | $18,000 | Madison | Wisconsin | |
| WI Laborers District Council | $18,000 | DeForest | Wisconsin | |
| Operating Engineers 139 PAC | $18,000 | Pewaukee | Wisconsin | |
| American Federation of Teachers #212 | $18,000 | Cudahy | Wisconsin | |
| Lubar, Joan | $17,000 | not employed | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Bonderman, Cale | $15,000 | investor | Fort Worth | Texas |
| Bonderman, Django | $15,000 | partner | Fort Worth | Texas |
| Lubar, David J | $15,000 | president & CEO | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Sobczak, Leonard J. | $12,033 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Page, Gloria | $11,452 | not employed | Los Altos | California |
| Witty, Joanne | $10,000 | lawyer/civic volunteer | Bedford Hills | New York |
| Solomon, Tracy | $10,000 | Not employed | San Rafael | California |
| Howkins, Mary Ann | $10,000 | Psychotherapist | New York | New York |
| Duker, Marilynn | $10,000 | CEO | Pikesville | Maryland |
| Beam, Jack | $10,000 | lawyer | Chicago | Illinois |
| Katz, Donald B. | $10,000 | retired | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Bernstein, John | $10,000 | sound producer | Guilford | Vermont |
| Conroy, Sheila | $10,000 | attorney | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Frederick, David | $10,000 | attorney | Washington | D.C. |
| Lynn, Sophia | $10,000 | executive director | McLean | Virginia |
| IBEW Local 494 PAC | $9,000 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | |
| Democratic Party of Wisconsin | $7,550 | Madison | Wisconsin | |
| Neubauer, Jeffrey S. | $7,000 | executive director | Racine | Wisconsin |
| Thomsen, Mark L. | $6,000 | attorney | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Tabak, Fred N. | $5,100 | attorney | Glendale | Wisconsin |
| Daniel, Ralph | $5,000 | Psychologist | San Rafael | California |
| Wallace, Sondra | $5,000 | not employed | Thomaston | Maine |
| Rabin, Nancy Kohn | $5,000 | not employed | Baltimore | Maryland |
| Krieger, Betsy | $5,000 | not employed | Baltimore | Maryland |
| Halstead, Cathy | $5,000 | philanthropist | Seattle | Washington |
| Brutoco Young, Sheila | $5,000 | real estate manager & investor | Hillsborough | California |
| Boothe, Barry | $5,000 | not employed | San Francisco | California |
| Chambers, Merle | $5,000 | retired | Denver | Colorado |
| Citizens for Spencer Black (candidate committee | $5,000 | Madison | Wisconsin | |
| Sensenbrenner, Joe | $5,000 | not employed | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Milliken, Weston | $5,000 | manager | West Hollywood | California |
| Ott, Marlene | $5,000 | not employed | Greendale | Wisconsin |
| Ream, Edward | $5,000 | not employed | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Grunau, Joanne | $5,000 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Flynn, Matthew J. | $5,000 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Bablitch, Stephen | $5,000 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Kelch, Elaine | $5,000 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Johnston, Robert | $4,000 | venture capitalist | Reno | Nevada |
| Statz, David | $3,500 | not employed | Baraboo | Wisconsin |
| Syms, Marcy | $3,000 | not employed | Bedford Hills | New York |
| Nerode, Nathanael | $3,000 | investment advice | Ithaca | Wisconsin |
| Symchych, Christine | $2,500 | Not employed | Fox Point | Wisconsin |
| Henry, John | $2,500 | Not employed | New York | New York |
