Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates may receive from individuals and organizations, how often they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political entities may contribute to campaigns.
While campaign finance is not the only factor in electoral outcomes, successful fundraising can provide a candidate with advantages during a campaign. Fundraising can also indicate party momentum.
This article lists top fundraisers among Wisconsin statewide officeholders and candidates, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for statewide elected offices submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. It includes activity between Jan. 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022.
Statewide political positions are typically offices in the executive and judicial branches of government rather than the legislative, and they most often represent all citizens in the state, rather than those in a particular district.
Top Wisconsin statewide fundraisers by party
The top fundraisers among Wisconsin statewide officeholders and candidates are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they are on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable. If no office is indicated, the person was an incumbent and was not on the ballot in 2022.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Tony Evers (Governor) – $10,129,841
- Josh Kaul (Attorney General) – $1,195,694
- Gillian Battino (Treasurer) – $259,931
- Sara Rodriguez (Lieutenant Governor) – $231,208
- Angelito Tenorio (Treasurer) – $36,716
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Tim Michels (Governor) – $7,976,022
- Rebecca Kleefisch (Governor) – $3,677,425
- Adam Jarchow (Attorney General) – $447,622
- Kevin Nicholson (Governor) – $446,506
- Roger Roth (Lieutenant Governor) – $253,294
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $11.9 million in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $13.6 million. Combined, all statewide officeholders and candidates in the Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022, filing period raised $25.5 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 99 percent of all Democratic statewide officeholder and candidate fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 94 percent of all Republican statewide officeholder and candidate fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top 10 fundraisers during this period.
| TOP 10 FUNDRAISERS – Wisconsin STATEWIDE OFFICEHOLDERS AND CANDIDATES (Jan. 1, 2022, through June 30, 2022) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party Affiliation | Office Sought | Raised | Spent |
| Governor Tony Evers | Democratic Party | Governor | $10,129,841 | $12,949,791 |
| Tim Michels | Republican Party | Governor | $7,976,022 | $7,654,260 |
| Rebecca Kleefisch | Republican Party | Governor | $3,677,425 | $3,535,775 |
| Attorney General Josh Kaul | Democratic Party | Attorney General | $1,195,694 | $356,464 |
| Adam Jarchow | Republican Party | Attorney General | $447,622 | $243,533 |
| Kevin Nicholson | Republican Party | Governor | $446,506 | $341,191 |
| Gillian Battino | Democratic Party | Treasurer | $259,931 | $55,443 |
| Roger Roth | Republican Party | Lieutenant Governor | $253,294 | $99,242 |
| Sara Rodriguez | Democratic Party | Lieutenant Governor | $231,208 | $103,867 |
| Timothy Ramthun | Republican Party | Governor | $172,628 | $91,176 |
Campaign finance reporting periods
The data above are based on campaign finance reports that candidate PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Candidate PACs represent individuals who have run for state or local office at any point, including past and present officeholders. This article does not include non-candidate PACs. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.
| Report Name | Report Due Date |
| 2022 Jan Semiannual | 1/18/2022 |
| 2022 Spring Pre-Primary | 2/7/2022 |
| 2022 Spring Pre-Election | 3/28/2022 |
| 2022 Jul Semiannual | 7/15/2022 |
| 2022 Fall Pre-Primary | 8/1/2022 |
| 2022 Sept Data | 9/27/2022 |
| 2022 Fall Pre-General | 10/31/2022 |
| 2023 Jan Semiannual | 1/7/2023 |
This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.
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