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 in the Wisconsin State Assembly, overall and by party. It is based on campaign finance reports that officeholders in and candidates for the Assembly submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. It includes activity between January 1, 2021, and January 31, 2022.
Top fundraisers in the Wisconsin State Assembly by party
The top fundraisers in Wisconsin State Assembly elections are shown below. Individuals are presented with the office that they are on the ballot for in 2022, if applicable.
In the Democratic Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Steve Doyle – $99,607
- Sara Rodriguez – $95,183
- Deb Andraca – $63,290
- Francesca Hong – $32,319
- Beth Meyers – $27,603
In the Republican Party, the top fundraisers in the most recent semiannual reporting period were:
- Robin Vos – $131,871
- Amy Loudenbeck – $84,829
- Mark Born – $69,406
- Elijah Behnke – $66,695
- William Penterman – $62,455
Fundraising totals
Overall, Democratic officeholders and candidates raised $557,441 in this period. Republican officeholders and candidates raised $1.22 million. Combined, all Assembly fundraisers in the January 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022, filing period raised $1.78 million.
The five largest Democratic fundraisers were responsible for 57 percent of all Democratic Assembly fundraising. The five largest Republican fundraisers were responsible for 34 percent of all Republican Assembly fundraising.
The table below provides additional data from the campaign finance reports from the top ten fundraisers during this period.
TOP TEN FUNDRAISERS – WISCONSIN STATE ASSEMBLY (January 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022)
Name | Party Affiliation | Raised | Spent |
Robin Vos | Republican Party | $131,871 | $16,639 |
Steve Doyle | Democratic Party | $99,607 | $19,373 |
Sara Rodriguez | Democratic Party | $95,183 | $40,319 |
Amy Loudenbeck | Republican Party | $84,829 | $18,260 |
Mark Born | Republican Party | $69,406 | $34,953 |
Elijah Behnke | Republican Party | $66,695 | $48,578 |
Deb Andraca | Democratic Party | $63,290 | $24,214 |
William Penterman | Republican Party | $62,455 | $63,291 |
Tony Kurtz | Republican Party | $61,975 | $25,768 |
Cindi Duchow | Republican Party | $51,545 | $2,506 |
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. In 2022, Transparency USA will publish campaign finance data after the 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.