April 12, 2026, 11:16 a.m. CT
- Schimel is referring to a law that allows unlimited donations to political parties, which funnel the money to candidates – a way around individual donor limits.
- While signed by Walker in 2015, Democrats now have an advantage in party fundraising over Republicans.
After conservatives saw their fourth straight state Supreme Court loss April 7, former candidate Brad Schimel pointed to party fundraising disparities and called decade-old campaign finance rules passed by Republicans a “terrible law.”
“I think it was a terrible decision, and I hope somebody undoes it,” Schimel said on WISN-TV’s “Upfront” April 12.
Schimel was referencing a 2015 law authored by Republicans and signed by former Gov. Scott Walker that allows donors to make unlimited contributions to state political parties, which then funnel the money to their preferred candidates. Comparably, individual donations to a state Supreme Court candidate are limited to $20,000.
“I used [the law], of course, last year, because I had to,” said Schimel, who now leads the U.S. Attorney’s Office based in Milwaukee. “Nowadays, it’s not enough to go have meet-and-greets in Eau Claire, Superior and Green Bay … you have to mass communicate.”
Campaign finance totals showed liberal Justice-elect Chris Taylor raised about $6.2 million, compared to conservative opponent Maria Lazar’s $1.2 million. The Republican Party of Wisconsin gave about $163,500 in monetary and in-kind donations to Lazar’s campaign, while the Democratic Party of Wisconsin contributed about $863,500 to Taylor.
Republicans, including Walker, have said their party needs to reinvigorate its fundraising efforts after Lazar’s loss and ahead of U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany’s run for governor in fall, where he faces a wide Democratic primary field.
Asked at her election night watch party about the state party’s support for her campaign, Lazar said she was satisfied with the financial backing she received and “held no recriminations” against anyone.
While passed over 10 years ago by Republicans, Democrats are now the fundraising powerhouse and use the law to their advantage, a WPR analysis found in 2024.
Between 2019 and 2025, when Ben Wikler led the state Democratic Party, the party raised $262 million for its state and federal accounts, compared to the Republican Party’s $97 million.
Devin Remiker, who replaced Wikler as the Democrats’ state party chairman, said Schimel “didn’t seem to find [the law] so terrible when he was crawling around on his knees begging for cash last year.”
That refers to comments Schimel made about fundraising for his 2025 campaign for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Elon Musk spent some $20 million in support of Schimel, who lost to liberal Justice Susan Crawford by 10 points.
Schimel, a former state attorney general, now leads the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The district’s judges declined to make his interim position permanent, but now-ousted U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi appointed him with a new title.
Schimel acknowledged on “Upfront” that he could be removed from the office at any time and feels no pressure from the Trump administration in his job.
He said he’s “thrilled” about acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s new initiative cracking down on fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
“I’ve seen things that are making my head spin in the amount of fraud that goes on,” Schimel said. “We’re going to go after the big stuff, and there’s going to be plenty for the picking.”
Hope Karnopp can be reached at HKarnopp@usatodayco.com.