Billionaire conservative donor Diane Henricks of ABC Building Supply in Beloit and her daughter have both given his campaign the maximum donation allowed by law.
Democrat Mike Bare is the first new face to represent the 80th Assembly District — which includes Middleton, Verona, Oregon and Mount Horeb — in 20 years.
Billionaires and millionaires, most supporting Democrats, continue to dump huge sums into Wisconsin politics through a loophole left open by state Republicans.
Democrat Dianne Hesselbein will be the first woman to represent the 27th State Senate district, which includes Middleton, Waunakee, Mount Horeb and New Glarus.
The Wisconsin governor has raised nearly $42 million to Michels’ mostly self-funded $25 million. But independent groups have spent more than $12 million trying to get the Republican elected, compared to about $4 million for the Democrat.
With state Supreme Court approval, coordinated norm-breaking across state boards allows GOP to hold control of some and possibly take control of others sooner than usual, experts say