The Democrat is winning the fundraising game in the GOP-leaning district, but the parties have mostly stayed out of the race, contrasting with their heavy spending in swing districts.
By Annie Pulley, THE BADGER PROJECT
Democrat Gillian Battino has significantly outraised Republican state Sen. Cory Tomczyk as they vie for control of the central Wisconsin district. Both candidates have also donated tens of thousands to their own campaigns.
Tomczyk has represented the district since 2023. President Donald Trump won the district by about 20 points in 2024, and it’s been controlled by Republicans for about 16 years.
This November’s election will be the first time Tomczyk must run under new, more competitive legislative maps, which were signed into law by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in early 2024. The previous maps were drawn by Republicans in the state Legislature and heavily favored them.
Both Tomczyk and Battino, a retired physician, have raised six-figure totals from January to mid-October, according to reports filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
Tomczyk, who is also a business owner in Mosinee, has raised about $130,000, and of that total, he’s given himself about $18,000. In Wisconsin, political candidates are allowed to donate unlimited amounts to their own campaigns.
Another $20,000 of Tomczyk’s total comes from the state GOP.
Political parties can raise and donate unlimited amounts to campaigns because of a legal loophole both parties have taken advantage of for years.
Combined, the state GOP and state Democratic Party have spent about $75,000 directly supporting Tomczyk and Battino. In contrast, both parties have pumped more than $3 million into the race for Assembly District 85, an urban part of the state Senate district that encompasses the City of Wausau. The gap signals the relative competitiveness of those contests.
Individuals and political action committees are limited, however, and they can only donate up to $2,000 to a state Senate candidate per election.
Tomczyk has received the max $2,000 donation from many donors, including the Concerned Realtors Committee, a political group that represents real estate interests, the Wisconsin Pipe Trades Association, a labor union, and the Tavern League of Wisconsin.
Battino has raised about $230,000 this year, according to her reports. That total includes the more than $50,000 she’s given her own campaign. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin has also given her about $36,000.
Battino received the max $2,000 contribution from many individuals and groups, including the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the teachers’ union, and another labor union that represents plumbers and steamfitters.
Families in central Wisconsin “face the risk of higher electric bills to serve massive data centers, while healthcare strains family budgets,” according to a statement Battino’s campaign sent to The Badger Project. “Cory Tomczyk accepts a significant portion of his campaign money from industries with a financial stake in utilities and healthcare. That support carries an expectation that their interests will be heard. My support comes from individuals and labor unions representing working people. Cory will work for them. I will work for the people of central Wisconsin. If we want elected officials accountable to the people, campaign finance reform should start with getting corporate money out of politics.”
Tomczky received $1,000 from a political action committee representing WEC Energy Group, a major subsidiary of which is utility company We Energies. He also received $250 from the political action committee for the Alliance of Health Insurers in Madison and $500 from the Wisconsin Hospitals political action committee.
Tomczyk’s campaign didn’t respond to multiple emailed requests for comment.
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Battino spent much of her career helping women in central Wisconsin fight breast cancer, she states on her campaign website.
She says she will ensure communities have meaningful input on data center projects in their neighborhoods and opt to reject them. Battino says Wisconsin needs a Medicare Advisory Council to pick up the slack where federal Medicare lags behind. The state also must fund public schools more robustly, she argues, so municipalities aren’t forced to constantly hike property taxes.
Battino’s website lists numerous endorsements, including from labor unions, Planned Parenthood, a teachers’ union and Clean Wisconsin Action Fund, a political action committee that advocates for pro-environment policy.
Tomczyk says he is “unapologetic conservative first and a Republican second,” according to his campaign website. He says he believes the government ought to reduce its spending, taxing and regulation.
His Facebook page calls for data center regulation.
He has been endorsed by the Dairy Business Association and the Volunteers for Agriculture, the political action committee of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
This story was funded by a grant from the B.A. & Esther Greenheck Foundation.
The Badger Project is an independent news nonprofit in Wisconsin.
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