Wisconsin attorney general raises $1.1 million this election cycle


According to campaign finance reports filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has raised $1.1 million and spent $257,084 between Jan. 1, 2021, and Mar. 21, 2022. Kaul is currently ranked fifth in state-level donations in the 2022 election cycle.

Kaul is a member of the Democratic Party and assumed office in 2019. In Wisconsin, the attorney general is an elected position. The primary job of a state attorney general is to serve as chief legal adviser to the agencies and legislative organs that make up his or her state’s government, in addition to the citizens residing within the state. Kaul is running for re-election in 2022.

Kaul’s reported campaign finance activity, by quarter (2017-2021)

Source: Transparency USA

Contributions to Kaul

Of the $1.1 million already reported in the 2022 election cycle, 26.1 percent came from the top 10 donors.

Top Donors to Kaul (1/1/2021 – 3/21/2022)

RankTotal AmountDonor NameDonor Type
1.$44,000.00Democrat Republican Independent Voter Education DRIVE FederalENTITY
2.$44,000.00Operating Engineers 139 PACENTITY
3.$44,000.00Wisconsin Education Association CouncilENTITY
4.$33,000.00WI Laborers District CouncilENTITY
5.$23,500.00IBEW Local 494 PACENTITY
6.$22,000.00WI Pipe Trades Assn PACENTITY
7.$20,000.00Elise LawsonINDIVIDUAL
8.$20,000.00John C MillerINDIVIDUAL
9.$20,000.00Ronald AbramsonINDIVIDUAL
10.$15,000.00Plumbers Local 75 PACENTITY

Expenditures by Kaul

Kaul reported $257,084 in expenditures, with 90.1 percent going to the 10 payees topping this list. “Payees” are entities or individuals listed as the recipients of campaign expenditures, and may include vendors, campaign accounts, and transfers.

Top Expenditures by Kaul (1/1/2021 – 3/21/2022)

RankTotal AmountPayee NamePayee Type
1.$88,000.00Sondra MilkieINDIVIDUAL
2.$28,036.64Deepak JonnalageddaINDIVIDUAL
3.$23,636.37Ruth PosekanyINDIVIDUAL
4.$19,197.53Wells Print and Digital ServicesENTITY
5.$17,000.00Rising Tide Interactive LLCENTITY
6.$15,600.00Ngp Van IncENTITY
7.$13,413.60Actblue WisconsinENTITY
8.$10,964.69US TreasuryENTITY
9.$8,841.74Paragon Payment SolutionsENTITY
10.$6,900.70United States Postal ServiceENTITY

How donations to Kaul compare to the same office in other states

Contributions vary widely among officeholders in the same role. A number of factors, including whether the position is appointed or elected, can influence donor activity. Here is how Kaul’s donations compare to the 10 other attorney generals with campaign finance data available from Transparency USA in 2022:

Across the U.S., 27 attorney generals are members of the Republican Party and 23 are members of the Democratic Party. Voters elect the attorney general in 43 states, while they are chosen by a state government organ in the other seven. In 2022, 30 states are holding elections for the position.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Wisconsin PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

Report NameReport Due Date
2022 Jan Semiannual1/18/2022
2022 Spring Pre-Primary2/7/2022
2022 Spring Pre-Election3/28/2022
2022 Jul Semiannual7/15/2022
2022 Fall Pre-Primary8/1/2022
2022 Sept Data9/27/2022
2022 Fall Pre-General10/31/2022
2023 Jan Semiannual1/7/2023

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.