Billionaires Dick and Liz Uihlein regularly shower Wisconsin and beyond with huge sums, trying to get Republicans elected. Sometimes they disagree on the candidate.
By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT
The congressional district in Wisconsin’s northwoods will have a new representative next year. The billionaire megadonor Uihleins disagree on who that should be.
The couple, who founded and run the massive shipping supplies company ULINE, each regularly spend millions boosting Republican candidates.
Forbes estimates the couple’s worth at $8 billion.
The Uihleins do most of their political spending through super PACs, political entities created by the Citizens United Supreme Court decision that can raise and spend unlimited amounts.
Dick Uihlein, an heir to the Schlitz Beer fortune, contributes huge sums to many super PACs every year, but he gave $1 million this year to the Northwoods Future PAC, according to mandatory reports to the Federal Elections Commission. That super PAC is supporting political rookie Michael Alfonso of Hudson in his run for the 7th Congressional District seat.
Liz Uihlein gave $1 million to the similarly named Northwoods PAC, which is supporting Jessi Ebben of Superior. So far, the billionaire is the only donor to this super PAC, according to its filings.
By law, super PACs are not allowed to communicate and coordinate with candidates and their political campaigns.
Also, the Uihleins each gave $7,000 directly to their preferred candidates’ campaigns, which is the maximum an individual can make to a candidate for federal office in this election cycle.
SUPPORT OUR WORK AND HELP US INVESTIGATE THE POWERFUL!
DONATEEbben has contributed more than $90,000 to her campaign, according to her mandatory filings with the Federal Elections Commission. She has also received $7,000 from Beloit-area billionaire megadonor Diane Hendricks and $3,500 from former U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde.
In 2020, Ebben unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination in the neighboring congressional district in western Wisconsin, when she reported to the Federal Elections Commission that she lived in Eau Claire.
Alfonso is the son-in-law of Sean Duffy, the current Secretary of Transportation in President Donald Trump’s cabinet, and the former congressman from the district for which he’s now running.
Ross Perot Jr., the son of the independent presidential candidate, and his wife were among the many to give Alfonso the maximum $7,000.
Duffy’s campaign committee made a donation of $1 million to the Northwoods Future PAC supporting his son-in-law, an investigation by The Badger Project found.
This isn’t the first time the Uihleins have split their support for opposing candidates.
Liz Uihlein supported former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the 2022 Republican primary for Wisconsin governor, and Dick Uihlein backed her opponent Kevin Nicholson.
They also chose different horses in the race for Republican National Committee chair in 2023.
Despite their frequent and major backing of Republican candidates, the couple differs somewhat in ideology. Dick Uihlein tends to support more insurgent candidates running against the party establishment, according to an analysis of his political giving by The Badger Project.
“Dick is super hardcore, and his wife is not so much,” former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, a Republican from Illinois once allied with the Uihleins, told Politico in 2023. Candidates from “the hard right and the tea party and blow it up and burn it down — those were the kind of politicians that Dick always supported. His wife was a bit more establishment. So, they would often disagree on certain candidates.”
The Badger Project is an independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.
FREE TO READ. EXPENSIVE TO PRODUCE.
Creating our hard-hitting news takes a lot of time and money.
A story like this needs at least 8 hours to research, write and edit.
Please consider financially supporting The Badger Project to help us do more reporting in the future.
Leave a Reply