Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford outraised conservative rival Brad Schimel more than 2-to-1 during the most recent reporting period, largely thanks to the strength of her individual donor network, a WisPolitics review finds.
As Wisconsin’s race — which will determine ideological control of the state Supreme Court — continues to shatter previous spending records, Crawford reported raising $17.3 million between Feb. 4 and March 17. That included $10.5 million from individual donors.
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Schimel, meanwhile, pulled in $7.3 million over that period with $2.3 million coming from individuals.
Both candidates also got significant boosts from the state parties ahead of the election, which is a week from today.
Wisconsin Dems transferred $5.5 million to Crawford’s campaign while reporting another $842,310 in in-kind donations to back her bid. Those moves came as the party collected $1 million each from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Dem megadonor George Soros during the pre-election period.
The state GOP, meanwhile, transferred $5.1 million to Schimel during the pre-election period, which covered Feb. 4-March 17. That came as the party received $2.1 million from Beloit businesswoman Diane Hendricks, $1.1 million from Illinois businesswoman Liz Uihlein and $1 million from billionaire Elon Musk.
Musk followed that $1 million donation to the state GOP with a $2 million contribution after the reporting period closed. Along with the $3 million he’s donated to the party, WisPolitics has tracked nearly $19.5 million in spending by two PACs affiliated with the billionaire businessman and confidante to President Donald Trump.
Since getting into the race in spring 2024 through mid-March, Crawford has now reported $26.5 million raised, a record for any judicial candidate in U.S. history.
By comparison, fellow liberal Janet Protasiewicz reported $16.7 million in contributions for her successful campaign in 2023 with nearly $10 million of that coming from the state Dem Party.
That total of $26.5 million includes the donations Crawford has listed on her late contribution report detailing donations of $1,000 or more since the pre-election period closed March 17.
The Dane County judge’s haul includes $10.4 million from the state Dem Party through transfers and in-kind contributions with another $9.6 million from out-of-state donations. That leaves about $6.5 million in Wisconsin donations.
Schimel, the Waukesha County judge and former AG who got into the race in late 2023, has now raised $14.3 million when adding in donations from his late contribution report. That includes $8.8 million from the state GOP and $800,327 from out-of-state contributors. That leaves $4.7 million from Wisconsin contributors.
Along with the $17.3 million that she raised in the pre-election period, Crawford spent nearly $17.8 million over those six weeks and had almost $2.6 million in the bank as of March 17.
She listed 22 donors during the pre-election period who gave the maximum contribution of $20,000. That includes director Steve Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw.
In addition to the $7.3 million he raised during the pre-election period, Schimel spent $7.4 million and had nearly $2.3 million cash on hand to close the period. Sixteen donors gave him the maximum of $20,000, including failed GOP U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde and J.C. Huizenga, chairman and founder of Huizenga Group in Michigan.
