Richard Uihlein and Tim Michels have each given Schimel the maximum $20,000. The Waukesha County judge and former AG has raised about $2 million so far in his campaign for the state’s high court.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge and former Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel raised more than $2 million through the end of 2024, according to mandatory campaign finance filings with the state.

By comparison, the political left’s candidate, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford, raised nearly $3 million in the same time frame, thanks in part to a $1 million donation from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Per state law, the most a person can give a candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court is $20,000. But a loophole in state campaign finance law allows political parties to raise unlimited amounts and donate unlimited amounts to candidates.

Campaigns for Wisconsin Supreme Court are technically nonpartisan, though both major parties throw their support behind their preferred candidate.

The race projects to be one of the court’s most expensive ever. Whichever side’s candidate wins will control the majority of the highest state court in Wisconsin.

The candidates and special interest groups spent a record-smashing $51 million in the last race for state Supreme Court in 2023, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, an organization that tracks campaign finance in the state. That election flipped the majority of the court from the right to the left for the first time in years.

Schimel served one term as Wisconsin Attorney General before he was defeated by current AG Josh Kaul in the 2018 election. Then-Gov. Scott Walker, who also lost that year, appointed Schimel to be a Waukesha County Circuit Court judge before the end of his term.

Schimel is positioning himself as a tough-on-crime adjudicator, one who has “dedicated his career to defending victims, supporting law enforcement, and ensuring that criminals are held accountable.”

“Brad Schimel will take back the Wisconsin Supreme Court and end the madness,” his website reads.

He received a drunken driving citation in 1990 when he was 24 years old. Schimel’s blood alcohol content was 0.14, above the limit at the time of 0.1, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is opening because left-leaning Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is retiring.

The general election is April 1. The winner will earn a 10-year term on the state’s high court.

Donors who have given Schimel the legal maximum $20,000

NAME	HOME TOWN	OCCUPATION	NOTES
Barry, Suzanne	Brookfield, WI	RETIRED	co-owner of tool manufacturing company Speed Systems
Barry, William E.	Brookfield, WI	RETIRED	co-owner of tool manufacturing company Speed Systems
Berrien, Willard	Milwaukee, WI	EXECUTIVE
Bryant, Andrea B.	Waukesha, WI	RETIRED
Buholzer, Glenda	Monroe, WI	MASTER CHEESEMAKER	co-owns Buhozer Brothers Cheese company
Buholzer, Susan	Monroe, WI	RETIRED	co-owns Buhozer Brothers Cheese company
Crivello, Frank P.	Milwaukee, WI	CHAIRMAN
Dretzka, Kevin	Lake Geneva, WI	SELF-EMPLOYED
English, Rachel	Wauwatosa, WI	PHYSICIAN
Fettig, Robert P.	Lake Geneva, WI	CEO
Hendricks, Kim	Janesville, WI	RETIRED	daughter of billionaire ABC Supply Co. Chairwoman Diane Hendricks
Jonas, Glen F.	Cedarburg, WI	CEO/OWNER
Kellner, Ted	Milwaukee, WI	CHAIRMAN, CEO	founder and chairman of Fiduciary Management, an independent money management firm
Kunes, Gregg E.	Lake Geneva, WI	OWNER
Leipold, Craig	Racine, WI	CHAIRMAN
Michels, Timothy J.	Brownsville, WI	OWNER	former GOP candidate for governor
Minahan, Daniel J.	Fox Point, WI	REAL ESTATE EXECUTIVE
Moeller, James	Waunakee, WI	AUTO DEALER OWNER
Neumann, Matthew	Hartland, WI	DEVELOPER
Pregont, Joseph T.	Janesville, WI	PRESIDENT & CEO
Rozolis, Keith	Lake Geneva, WI	MANAGER
Schloemer, James H.	Menomonee Falls, WI	CEO
Taylor, Carol G.	Waukesha, WI	HOMEMAKER
Uihlein, Richard E.	Lake Bluff, IL	CEO	billionaire founder of ULINE packing supplies
White, Cathy	Milwaukee, WI
White, Michael	Milwaukee, WI	CHAIRMAN	Owner of Rite-Hite, which manufactures industrial equipment
Wright, Karen	Mount Vernon, OH	CHAIRMAN
Young, Fred M.	Racine, WI	RETIRED

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