Results in the five most expensive Democratic Wisconsin House primaries


Democratic primary elections for all 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly took place on Aug. 9, 2022. Of the 99 districts up for election in 2022, eight had a Democratic primary election with more than one candidate.

Across all contested Democratic primary elections, candidates raised $408,615. Candidates raised an average of $17,766.

Five primary elections with the most fundraising

The table below details the five Democratic primary elections with the most fundraising in the State Assembly. Winning candidates’ names are in bold.

District Money Raised Officeholder Candidates
District 46 $157,250 Gary Hebl (D) Melissa Ratcliff, Syed Abbas, Andrew Hysell, Analiese Eicher, and Mike Jacobs
District 80 $124,716 Sondy Pope (D) Mike Bare, Anna Halverson, Chad Kemp, Dale Yurs, and Doug Steinberg
District 10 $55,692 David Bowen (D) Darrin Madison Jr. and Bryan Kennedy
District 96 $30,966 Loren Oldenburg (R) Jayne Swiggum, Mark Fritsche, and Karen Mischel
District 45 $24,748 Mark Spreitzer (D) Clinton Anderson and Ben Dorscheid

The officeholders above are listed for the current districts they hold. However, this is a redistricting year, so candidates have been identified below as incumbents even if they are running in a different district than they currently hold.

#1 District 46 – $157,250

Andrew Hysell raised $77,546, Syed Abbas raised $38,343, Melissa Ratcliff raised $23,474, Analiese Eicher raised $17,887, and Mike Jacobs raised $0.

Melissa Ratcliff advanced to the general election with 36 percent of the vote, Syed Abbas received 22 percent of the vote, Andrew Hysell received 18 percent of the vote, Analiese Eicher received 14 percent of the vote, and Mike Jacobs received 10 percent of the vote.

#2 District 80 – $124,716

Mike Bare raised $63,941, Chad Kemp raised $29,819, Anna Halverson raised $26,621, Dale Yurs raised $4,335, and Doug Steinberg raised $0.

Mike Bare advanced to the general election with 48 percent of the vote, Anna Halverson received 27 percent of the vote, Chad Kemp received 19 percent of the vote, Dale Yurs received 4 percent of the vote, and Doug Steinberg received 1 percent of the vote.

#3 District 10 – $55,692

Bryan Kennedy raised $38,865 and Darrin Madison Jr. raised $16,827.

Darrin Madison Jr. advanced to the general election with 58 percent of the vote and Bryan Kennedy received 42 percent of the vote.

#4 District 96 – $30,966

Karen Mischel raised $14,659, Jayne Swiggum raised $8,297, and Mark Fritsche raised $8,010.

Jayne Swiggum advanced to the general election with 61 percent of the vote, Mark Fritsche received 39 percent of the vote, and Karen Mischel withdrew.

#5 District 45 – $24,748

Clinton Anderson raised $20,390 and Ben Dorscheid raised $4,358.

Clinton Anderson advanced to the general election with 62 percent of the vote and Ben Dorscheid received 38 percent of the vote.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Wisconsin PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. 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.