UPDATED: Top campaign donors to former Justice Daniel Kelly, right-wing candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court

Hendricks, Uihleins, Gentines of Sargento Foods, and Don Zietlow of Kwik Trip all have made large donations to the campaign.

Former Justice Daniel Kelly, left, is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Top donors to his campaign include, clockwise from middle top, Diane Hendricks, Dick and Liz Uihlein, Lou Gentine and Don Zietlow.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

In his race to return to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, former Justice Daniel Kelly has struggled to keep up with the fundraising juggernaut of the campaign of his opponent, Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz.

She has raised more than $13 million to his less than $2.5 million this year, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state.

Kelly is, however, winning slightly in the independent spending category, by a margin of about $12.3 million to about $10.2 million. This kind of political spending comes from groups like Super PACs, which are not allowed to coordinate with campaigns, but can raise and spend unlimited amounts, most of it on advertisements promoting their preferred candidates and attacking opponents. This is the preferred method of political spending for billionaire, right-wing donor Dick Uihlein, who injects millions into Wisconsin elections trying to get his preferred candidates, such as Kelly, elected.

But Uihlein and his wife Liz have both also given Kelly $20,000 — the maximum donation allowed by state law to a Supreme Court candidate — as have both Diane Hendricks and her daughter Kim Hendricks, the Beloit-area billionaire family who owns and runs ABC Supply, both Rite-Hite CEO Michael White and his wife Cathy, and both Lou and Michelle Gentine, co-owners of Sargento Foods, as well as current Sargento CEO Louie Gentine. John Schlifske, CEO of Northwestern Mutual, and his wife Kim, each gave Kelly the maximum too, as did Leonard A. Leo, co-chairman of the Federalist Society.

Don Zietlow, former CEO of Kwik Trip, has given Kelly’s campaign $10,000.

Liz Uihlein also donated $500,000 to the Republican Party of Wisconsin, and Lou Gentine donated $100,000, cash that likely made its way to Kelly’s campaign.

Due to a loophole in state campaign finance law, political parties can accept donations without limit, while donations directly to a candidate are capped. Those same political parties are also allowed to donate unlimited amounts to candidates. State Democrats have introduced legislation to close the loophole, but Republicans who control the legislature have ignored the bills. Donors to both parties use the loophole, but the Democratic Party is now using it to its greater advantage, as many wealthy, left-wing donors are using the loophole to route huge sums of money to their preferred candidates.

A list of Kelly’s top donors, according to campaign finance reports filed with the state, is below.

DONORCITYSTATEOCCUPATIONDONATION
ALYWARD, RICHARDNEENAHWIRETIRED$20,000
BUHOLZER, DAVEMONROEWICHEESEMAKER$20,000
FOX, BRENT AJANESVILLEWIMANAGER$20,000
GENTINE, LOUIEPLYMOUTHWIEXECUTIVE$20,000
GENTINE, LOUELKHART LAKEWIRETIRED$20,000
GENTINE, MICHELEELKHART LAKEWIRETIRED$20,000
HENDRICKS, DIANE MBELOITWICHAIRMAN$20,000
HENDRICKS, KIMBERLEE K (KIM)JANESVILLEWIRETIRED$20,000
KIEFFER, LYNN RPRINCETONWIRETIRED$20,000
KIEFFER, STEPHEN GPRINCETONWIRETIRED$20,000
LEO, LEONARDMCLEANVA$20,000
MINAHAN, DANIEL JFOX POINTWICEO$20,000
MINAHAN, SUSANFOX POINTWIHOMEMAKER$20,000
NELSON, AMYOCONOMOWOCWIBUSINESS OWNER$20,000
SCHLIFKE, JOHNELM GROVEWIEXECUTIVE$20,000
SCHLIFKE, KIMELM GROVEWIHOMEMAKER$20,000
SCHLOEMER, JAMES H.MENOMONEE FALLSWIRETIRED$20,000
SHAFFER, JOHNCHICAGOILLUDINGTON, DAVID P$20,000
UIHLEIN, ELIZABETH A (LIZ)LAKE BLUFFILCEO$20,000
UIHLEIN, RICHARD ELLIS (DICK)LAKE FORESTILCHAIRMAN$20,000
WHITE, CATHYRIVER HILLSWIHOMEMAKER$20,000
WHITE, MICHAELRIVER HILLSWI$20,000
WILSON, DONALD S.MIDDLETONWIRETIRED$20,000
YOUNG , SANDRARACINEWIRETIRED$20,000
YOUNG JR, FRED MRACINEWIRETIRED$20,000
WALL, TERRENCE RMIDDLETONWIPRESIDENT$11,075
DHEIN, JERE EGREEN BAYWIRETIRED$10,000
ENGLISH, PATRICK JWAUWATOSAWIINVESTOR$10,000
FLECKENSTEIN, JOHNPEWAUKEEWISYSTEMS ENGINEER$10,000
HUBBARD, STANLEY SSAINT PAULMNBUSINESS OWNER$10,000
LEE, MATTHEW BPEWAUKEEWIPHYSICIAN$10,000
MAYER, SCOTT AFRANKLINWIPRESIDENT$10,000
MORGENSON, DAVID WDELAFIELDWIREALTOR$10,000
SILSETH, JOHN MBROOKFIELDWICEO$10,000
ZIETLOW, DONLA CROSSEWIRETIRED$10,000
SLAWSON, MICHELLEJOPLINMOSELF-EMPLOYED/WRITER$5,800
SLAWSON, STEPHENJOPLINMOMD$5,800
ATWELL, SALLY JSTURGEON BAYWIHOMEMAKER$5,000
AUSTIN, BRADBELOITWIOWNER$5,000
AYLWARD, RICHARD JNEENAHWIRETIRED$5,000
CUCCO, RICHARDNAPLESFLBUSINESS OWNER$5,000
CULLEN, MARKJANESVILLEWICHAIRMAN$5,000
DAVIS, DWIGHT ESISTER BAYWICHAIRMAN$5,000
FOULKES, DUANE EBEAVER DAMWIBUSINESS OWNER$5,000
GILBERTSON, MICHAEL OJANESVILLEWIRETIRED$5,000
HOWLETT, THOMAS MDE PEREWIRETIRED$5,000
JACOBSON, JOSEPHAPPLETONWIVP$5,000
JENSEN, JAY SMADISONWIPRESIDENT$5,000
LUDINGTON, DAVD PONALASKAWIRETIRED$5,000
MILLIS, DONSUN PRAIRIEWIATTORNEY$5,000
POPA, SAMUELSOUTH BELOITILBUSINESS OWNER$5,000
REED, VERNE ROCONOMOWOCWIDENTIST$5,000
ROEHL, RICHARDMARSHFIELDWIEXECUTIVE$5,000
SCHAFFER, JOHN ECHICAGOILRETIRED$5,000
FRYE, GERALDPEWAUKEEWIVP OF ANALYTICS$3,544
FRYE, NATALIEPEWAUKEEWIRETIRED$2,944
BISKUPIC, STEVENMEQUONWILAWYER$2,500
BOLDT, THOMAS JAPPLETONWICEO$2,500
GRABER, RICHARD WFOX POINTWIATTORNEY$2,500
KOSTUCH, KEITHMIDDLETONWIRETIRED$2,500
KUESTER, DENNISNAPLESFLRETIRED$2,500
NIKOLAI, EMILY AWAUPACAWIBUSINESS OWNER$2,500
TARANTINO, JAMESWAUKESHAWIEXECUTIVE$2,500
TAYLOR, CAROL GWAUKESHAWIHOMEMAKER$2,500
WOLDING, DONNELSONVILLEWIRETIRED$2,500
ANDERSON, JOHN RROCKFORDILBUSINESS OWNER$2,000
BRYANT, ANDREA BWAUKESHAWIRETIRED$2,000
HOVDE, ERIC DMADISONWICEO$2,000
JANKOWSKI, SCOTTHARTLANDWIBUSINESS OWNER$2,000
KAUFMAN, SCOTTMINOCQUAWIRETIRED$2,000
KUNES, GREGGDELAVANWIPRESIDENT$2,000
PAVELSKI, RICHARDNAPLESFLRETIRED$2,000
TOONEN, ROBERTGREEN BAYWIBUSINESS OWNER$2,000

Jessica Sonkin and Hina Suzuki contributed to this report.

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

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.