George Soros and other out-of-state billionaires have donated millions of dollars to Wisconsin Democrats ahead of the upcoming state Supreme Court election — a race which has “2024 consequences,” Fox News reported on Tuesday.
Soros, an infamous left-wing financier, donated $1 million to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin on February 22, according to campaign finance records. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker donated $1 million on March 14, and Tulsa philanthropists Stacy and Lynn Schusterman made four donations in March totaling $1 million, after previously donating $40,000 to the party.
“Soros and Pritzker’s cash accounted for roughly 30 percent of the $6.6 million in individual contributions the Wisconsin Democratic Party raised during that time. A handful of other major liberal donors — including Karla Jurvetson and Fred Eychaner – added hundreds of thousands of dollars,” the outlet reported.
The report notes the winner of the race will “determine majority control of the court, with the fate of abortion access, legislative redistricting, voting rights, rules for elections, and other significant issues at stake.”
“The winner will also be in place heading into the 2024 presidential election in a critical battleground state,” Fox News added, noting that in-person early voting in the state started last week and will continue through April 1. The general election kicks off on April 4.
Wisconsin Democratic Party transferred millions of dollars to the campaign of Democrat state Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz in recent months. Protasiewicz is a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge who is running against former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, a Republican. The current court holds a 4-3 conservative majority.
Politico reported that the race is “poised to be the most expensive state Supreme Court race ever, with major outside groups — particularly those focused on abortion — rushing in funds.”
“The previous record was over $15 million for a 2004 Illinois contest, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. In Wisconsin, $10.4 million was spent on advertising alone in the run-up to the primary, according to data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact,” Politico reported in February.
The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign on Wednesday stated in a press release that Protasiewicz raised nearly $12.4 million between early February and mid-March, and “more than two-thirds of it came from the state Democratic Party.” Kelly raised $2.2 million over that same time period.
But Republicans are not sitting on their hands. As Breitbart News reported in early March, the Republican National Committee (RNC), the central committee for the Republican Party responsible for various actions such as fundraising and election strategy, is invested on the ground to ensure Wisconsinites get out to vote. At the time of the report, Republican volunteers had already made over 134,000 voter contacts with nearly 300 volunteers. The national party is responsible for also having paid field staff across the state to help with voter integrity, while RNC Digital is trying to help bolster turnout as well.
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming told Breitbart News, “The partnership between the Republican Party of Wisconsin and the Republican National Committee for the Wisconsin State Supreme Court race shows just how consequential the April 4 election could be.”
“While out-of-state leftists are trying to buy a Supreme Court seat for a soft-on-crime Democrat, who has promised to put her thumb on the scales of justice, we have teamed up to elect Daniel Kelly, who will uphold the rule of law and protect the Constitution. RPW, with the help of RNC, is fully invested in pushing all center-right voters to the ballot box and continuing our election integrity efforts,” Schimming added.
RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Breitbart News, “The Republican National Committee is working hand in glove with the Republican Party of Wisconsin to retain control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The Badger State deserves a Supreme Court that is not beholden to special interests and a progressive liberal agenda, and that’s why Wisconsinites are energized to turn out and vote conservative come April.”
Protasiewicz has faced backlash for “what critics call a ‘soft-on-crime’ approach, according to Fox News. The outlet previously reported how she “suspended the prison sentence of a convicted domestic abuser before he went on the kill two people in 2019.” Local outlets have also reported that, for the third year in a row, Milwaukee broke its homicide record.
As Breitbart News also reported in the past, the liberal-backed candidate has been relatively controversial. She has been outspoken about her political ideology during the campaign by saying the election maps were “rigged” and making a campaign ad saying, “I believe in a woman’s freedom to make her own decision on abortion.”