Money is once again front and center of the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Liberal candidate Chris Taylor on Wednesday released her first campaign finance report.
“Judge Chris Taylor’s campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court will report raising over $2.6 million since launching in May, with $2.04 million raised during the most recent reporting period,” the campaign announced.
That $2.6 million puts Taylor just behind the last liberal candidate for the Wisconsin court. Now-Justice Susan Crawford reported a $2.9 million fundraising haul at this point last year. But that fundraising haul included a $1 million transfer from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Taylor’s fundraising report does not.
“The record-breaking support shows we aren’t taking anything for granted,” Taylor said in a statement. “Last year we saw right-wing billionaires spend tens of millions to buy a seat on the Court and we know Maria Lazar will call on them to do the same this time around.”
Lazar, who is the conservative in the race, however has not called on billionaires yet.
Lazar’s campaign on Tuesday announced that it raised $200,000, which she said came from a “surge of grassroots support.”
“While career politician, and former far-left State Rep. Chris Taylor has spent nearly a year amassing a multi-million dollar war chest from out of state donors and special interests, Judge Lazar’s campaign is proving that momentum isn’t just measured in dollars, it’s measured in people,” her campaign said.
This is the first snapshot of the finances in Wisconsin’s next race for the high court.
The past two races ended-up breaking spending records. Both sides, and a host of outside groups, spent more than $50 million in the 2024 race between Janet Protasiewicz and Dan Kelly. Both sides, and even more outside groups, spent more than $100 million in.
This article was originally published by The MacIver Institute.