Kwik Trip owner Donald Zeitlow has given her campaign $10,000.
By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT
Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow has raised more than $400,000 so far in 2023 for her campaign for the open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, according to campaign finance reports.
She is lagging behind the fundraising leader Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz, the left-wing candidate who has reported raising at least $1.8 million in her campaign so far and is actively running TV advertisements. 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, has reported raising more than $70,000 in 2023 so far.
The candidates continue to raise funds, so these figures are rapidly growing.
Dorow has received $20,000 donations, the maximum allowed by state law, from Juan Perez of Milwaukee, Richard Kessler of Okauchee, and Remi Harris of Mequon. Kwik Trip owner Donald Zeitlow has also given her campaign $10,000.
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 Dorow’s campaign.
| DONOR | AMOUNT | OCCUPATION | CITY | STATE |
| Perez, Juan | $20,000 | OWNER | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Kessler, Richard | $20,000 | RETIRED | Okauchee | Wisconsin |
| Harris, Remi | $20,000 | OWNER | Mequon | Wisconsin |
| Zietlow, Donald | $10,000 | Kwik Trip owner | La Crosse | Wisconsin |
| Shannon, Michael | $10,000 | EXECUTIVE | Denver | Colorado |
| Hallada, Frank | $10,000 | Auto Dealer | Dodgeville | Wisconsin |
| Gallun, Martin | $10,000 | EXECUTIVE | Oconomowoc | Wisconsin |
| Fettig, Robert | $10,000 | BUS. MANAGER | Lake Geneva | Wisconsin |
| Fedler, Jan | $10,000 | HOMEMAKER | Dodgeville | Wisconsin |
| Buholzer, Steven | $10,000 | EXECUTIVE | Monroe | Wisconsin |
| Buholzer, Ronald | $10,000 | EXECUTIVE | Monroe | Wisconsin |
| Buholzer, Glenda | $10,000 | HOMEMAKER | Monroe | Wisconsin |
| Trunzo, Robert | $5,000 | PRESIDENT & CEO | Brookfield | Wisconsin |
| Tierney, Joanne | $5,000 | FARMING | DeForest | Wisconsin |
| Strong, Richard | $5,000 | EXECUTIVE | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Ritchie, Jon | $5,000 | VP | Cobb | Wisconsin |
| Pierce, William | $5,000 | OWNER | Reedsburg | Wisconsin |
| Meister, Scott | $5,000 | cheesemaker | Muscoda | Wisconsin |
| McCormick, Joseph | $5,000 | OWNER | Madison | Wisconsin |
| Kessler, Robert | $5,000 | RETIRED | Okauchee | Wisconsin |
| Hatch, Sandra | $5,000 | farmer | Necedah | Wisconsin |
| Hartung, Rosemarie | $5,000 | HOMEMAKER | Arena | Wisconsin |
| Griffin, James | $5,000 | CAR DEALER | Hartland | Wisconsin |
| Fritz, David | $5,000 | insurance | Potosi | Wisconsin |
| Aylward, Richard | $5,000 | RETIRED | Neenah | Wisconsin |
| Kolb, Robert | $3,000 | MAINTENANCE | Dousman | Wisconsin |
| Grebe, Michael | $2,500 | retired | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
| Wieser, Mark | $2,000 | business owner | Wisconsin Dells | Wisconsin |
| Styza, Anne | $2,000 | retired | Oconomowoc | Wisconsin |
| Stein, Michael | $2,000 | owner | Waukesha | Wisconsin |
| Schneller, James | $2,000 | OWNER | Platteville | Wisconsin |
| Mode, James | $2,000 | RETIRED | Jefferson | Wisconsin |
| Lowe, Mary | $2,000 | EXECUTIVE | Soldiers Grove | Wisconsin |
| Ewald, Brian | $2,000 | AUTO DEALER | Oconomowoc | Wisconsin |
| Milwaukee Police Association Political Action Committee | $1,000 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.
Categories: Investigations
Make judge dower be the greatest judge that ever come back to the top of the Court cuz she deserve it and has what it takes to run to the Supreme Court and some I pray these prayers and the mighty name of Jesus Christ
Why do most of Lefty Protasiewicz’s donations come from out-of-state (read CA) zip codes?
Ah Lefty; so MUCH hypocrisy, so little time!
The Gotch
Jennifer Dorow takes the cake when it comes to justice. Her court performance proves it. She will likely gamey my vote. The other three don’ t seem to have the oomph she has. Leah Emmerich. Madison WI
Regardless of the propriety of Daniel Kelly being working hand in glove with republicans and the Republican Party, the fact that he has been scolded by his own conservative colleagues on that court deserve a bit more ink.
“But Kelly’s opinions draw dissents not just because of ideological or political differences, but because of the poorly reasoned and irresponsible nature of his judging.”
“Kelly’s colleagues on the state Supreme Court pinpoint basic judicial errors, such as misreading simple language in a statute, ignoring straightforward statutory interpretations in favor of tortured ones, and misapplying judicial precedent.”
Good people can disagree honestly about specific matters, but when a man who has a lawyer license makes basic errors in applying the Law, and his own conservative colleagues, even though they may rule with him tell you that he doesn’t apply the law correctly, that is serious: that means he should not be a lawyer: He doesn’t know his job.
https://madison.com/opinion/column/steph-tai-and-tahirih-lee-even-conservative-wisconsin-supreme-court-justices-have-scolded-daniel-kelly/article_63cc1db8-28c1-5395-b7bd-0c2e4b0c5758.html