These Wisconsin State Senate candidates raised the most money and lost

By

Kalyn Stralow

Elections for 17 of 32 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate took place on Nov. 8, 2022. Republicans held a 20-12 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates who raised the most money and lost their election. In the 2022 election cycle, 14 of 17 general elections were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

State Senate candidates who raised the most money and lost their general election

This information comes from candidate reports to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Oct. 24, 2022.

The candidates who raised the most money and lost their election were:

  • David Estenson – $368,184 – District 31 (Lost general 50% – 50%)
  • Kelly Westlund – $296,644 – District 25 (Lost general 43% – 57%)
  • Kristin Alfheim – $231,809 – District 19 (Lost general 46% – 54%)
  • Jessica Katzenmeyer – $109,343 – District 5 (Lost general 47% – 53%)
  • Robert Relph – $81,713 – District 27 (Lost general 32% – 68%)

State Senate candidates who raised the most money and lost their general election last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The candidates who raised the most money and lost their election were:

  • Jonathon Hansen – $1,465,744 – District 30 (Lost general 45% – 55%)
  • Neal Plotkin – $1,248,365 – District 8 (Lost general 46% – 54%)
  • Paul Piotrowski – $1,165,455 – District 24 (Lost general 44% – 56%)
  • Patty Schachtner – $753,809 – District 10 (Lost general 40% – 60%)
  • Dan Kapanke – $620,520 – District 32 (Lost general 50% – 50%)

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Wisconsin PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Political expenditures that are not controlled by candidates or their campaigns, known as satellite spending, are not included in candidate totals. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines.

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.