Since the opening of a loophole that allows Wisconsin political parties to raise and distribute unlimited amounts, the record has been broken many times. A race in the northern Milwaukee suburbs set it this year.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

The fundraising in the race for 8th Senate District has blown past the previous record for most expensive race in the history of the Wisconsin State Legislature.

In a perfect storm of the Wisconsin State Legislature becoming competitive this year after the end of Republican gerrymandering and the state Democratic Party’s huge advantage in fundraising, a total of nine races have broken the previous record for most expensive race in the state legislature, previously set in 2020, according to campaign finance records collected by the Follow the Money database.

But the campaign cash in the 8th Senate District towers above all others.

Republican state Sen. Duey Stroebel and his Democratic opponent, attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin — running for the hyper-competitive 8th Senate District, which includes the northern Milwaukee suburbs of Grafton, Menomonee Falls and Whitefish Bay — have raised more than $7 million combined, nearly double the next highest, according to campaign finance records. But that total comes with a large asterisk. Most of the $5.2 million Habush Sinykin has raised came from one source: the state Democratic Party.

And these figures don’t even include the money being spent by independent groups that run ads attacking or promoting candidates in the district.

THE MOST EXPENSIVE RACES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WISCONSIN STATE LEGISLATURE

The attorney from Whitefish Bay has only raised about $700,000 from donors outside the state party. Her father, the prominent Milwaukee-area attorney Robert L. Habush, has given nearly $800,000 to the state Democratic Party in this election cycle.

Stroebel has raised a total of nearly $1.9 million, with more than $1.1 million coming from the state Republican Party. He also donated $200,000 to his own campaign.

The route for that massive party support comes through a loophole in campaign finance law in Wisconsin.

Individuals, other candidates and political action committees can only give a candidate for state Senate $2,000 per election cycle, according to state campaign finance law.

But due to a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court case called McCutcheon v. FEC and inaction by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, no limits exist on political parties receiving or distributing political cash.

So billionaires like ABC Supply co-founder Diane Hendricks, ULINE co-founder Elizabeth Uihlein, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and Hyatt Hotells heir and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker have repeatedly used the loophole to funnel huge sums to their preferred party. They have all given millions of dollars to Wisconsin political parties in this election cycle alone.

Thus campaign spending has exploded in state races since the opening of the loophole, leading to airwaves and mailboxes jammed ever more full with political advertising each election.

Democrats in the state Legislature have offered bills to close that loophole, but the Republican majority has ignored them. So Democrats have taken a different tactic in recent elections: using the loophole to their advantage. The state party has raised nearly $57 million in the 2024 election cycle, compared to just $29 million for the state Republican Party.

That translates into major advertising advantages for Democrats in tight state legislative races across the state.

They hope it will allow them to take back the state Legislature for the first time in more than a decade.

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