Candidates, incumbents for 2026 elections report current campaign finance numbers

Yahoo

18-07-2025

Wisconsin State Capitol (Wisconsin Examiner photo)
With the fields for the 2026 elections still shaping up, incumbents and candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and governor's office turned in their campaign finance reports over the last week.
Gov. Tony Evers, who has not yet announced whether he will run for a third term, reported raising $757,214 this year with just over $2 million on hand at the end of June. In comparison, Evers had raised $5 million during the first six months of 2021 before going on to beat Republican businessman Tim Michels in November 2022. Evers said he would make a decision about running following the completion of the state budget, which he signed earlier this month. He has said he expects to announce a decision any day.
Whitefish Bay manufacturer and former Navy SEAL Bill Berrien, who entered the GOP primary for governor last week, hasn't had to submit campaign fundraising information yet, but he told WISN-12 that he expected to raise 'just shy of $1 million' in the first week of his campaign.
Berrien's 'Never Out of the Fight' PAC, which he launched in April to help further conservative causes and to help Republican candidates win elections, reported raising nearly $1.2 million in its first few months.
The majority of the PAC's total comes from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who each contributed $500,000.
The New York-based twins are co-founders of Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform that they launched in 2014. They are well known for suing Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, claiming that he stole their idea when he started Facebook. Both twins were portrayed by actor Armie Hammer in 2010 in the movie The Social Network.
Berrien's campaign has already started spending 13 months ahead of the primary, announcing a $400,000 ad buy this week. Berrien is seeking to align himself with President Donald Trump, despite not supporting him during the 2024 presidential primary.
'I got into the race for governor because I believe we need a leader to shake up Madison the same way President Trump has shaken up Washington,' Berrien said in a statement about the ad buy. 'I'll use my experience as a former Navy SEAL and Wisconsin manufacturer to turn our state around from the weak leadership we've experienced under Tony Evers and put Wisconsin families first.'
Republican Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who was the first candidate in the race, raised $424,143 during his first two months. He thanked his supporters in a statement, saying that the numbers show that there is a 'huge appetite for a new generation of common sense leadership in Wisconsin — one that reforms state government' and 'puts taxpayers first.'
Ahead of the November gubernatorial election, Wisconsin will have another April election for the state Supreme Court. The balance of the Court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority, will not be at stake as conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for reelection.
While the state Supreme Court race is still eight months away, Bradley reported no fundraising activity this month, creating uncertainty about whether she'll run.
Bradley told WisPolitics in April that she would run for another term, saying she wanted to 'ensure that there is a voice for the Constitution and for the rule of law to preserve that in the state of Wisconsin.' However, since then speculation has risen that she may change her mind. A report from conservative talk radio host Mark Belling in June said it was unlikely she would run.
Spending in the nominally nonpartisan races has skyrocketed in recent years, breaking all records in April. Spring statewide elections in Wisconsin have been increasingly tough for conservatives over the last several years. The last three consecutive Supreme Court races were won by the liberal candidate by double-digit margins.
Appeals court judge and former Democratic state Assembly lawmaker Chris Taylor launched her campaign for the Supreme Court in May. She reported raising $583,933 in the first weeks of her campaign. The total comes from nearly 4,800 contributions, including from people in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
At this point in her campaign in 2024, Justice-elect Susan Crawford had raised $460,000.
Taylor's campaign manager Ashley Franz said in a statement that the fundraising numbers show that Wisconsinites want to reinforce the current liberal majority on the Court.
'Judge Taylor's broad base of support reflects her commitment to serving all Wisconsinites and ensuring our courts remain fair and independent,' Franz said.
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