Democrats have a serious chance to retake the Legislature’s lower chamber this year. The party is using its big fundraising advantage to boost state Rep. Steve Doyle in the 94th Assembly District.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

More than $1.1 million.

With weeks still to go in the campaign, that’s the investment the Democratic Party of Wisconsin already has dropped into one little state Assembly district in western Wisconsin.

It’s evidence both of the organization’s wide fundraising edge over the state GOP, and a possible earthquake in Wisconsin politics.

“It’s very clear that the Democrats want to hold this very competitive district if they have any chance at pulling out a slight majority this November,” said Joe Heim, a political science professor emeritus at UW-La Crosse.

Republicans have held the Assembly for more than a decade. But for the same amount of time, state Rep. Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska) has held the 94th Assembly District, which includes several communities north of La Crosse, since 2011.

The political districts for the state legislature are much more competitive after the state Supreme Court enacted new ones earlier this year. Doyle’s district is still highly competitive.

The Democrat won the district by fewer than 800 votes in 2022, earning 14,826 votes to Republican challenger Ryan Huebsch’s 14,070.

In that election, Huebsch “ran a very vigorous campaign and almost pulled off the upset of a well-established incumbent,” Heim noted.

So the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has given their incumbent, through the end of September, a gigantic $1.2 million to run ads promoting himself and attacking his opponent. Doyle, 66, has reported raising less than $200,000 from sources outside the party.

By comparison, the 28-year-old Huebsch of Onalaska has reported raising a little more than $200,000 through late September, most of which has come from the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

And those figures don’t include spending by political groups independent of the campaigns, which will undoubtedly push the total cost of the race even higher.

Individuals, other candidates and political action committees can only give a candidate for state Assembly $1,000 per election, per state election law. But thanks to a loophole in the law, political parties in Wisconsin can both raise and distribute unlimited amounts of political cash.

That loophole was created by a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision and left open by inaction by the GOP-controlled state Legislature. Democrats have repeatedly introduced bills that would close this loophole, but Republicans have ignored them.

Ironically, now state Democrats are driving semis full of cash through the loophole, and are outraising and outspending Republicans by millions in Wisconsin.

But other factors may also affect the outcome in the 94th, Heim said. 

The current salary for a state legislator in Wisconsin is $57,408 per year.

“For this contest, a lot depends on how well (former President Donald) Trump does in western Wisconsin and also how well (U.S. Senate candidate Eric) Hovde’s campaign goes,” Heim said.

Huebsch is well-known in the district. His father, Michael Huebsch, also a Republican, held the seat in the 94th from 1995 to 2011. He resigned in January 2011 when then-Gov. Scott Walker named him the state’s Administration Secretary.

This story was produced with support from INN’s Rural News Network and Microsoft’s Democracy Forward program.

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