A political committee backed by billionaire George Soros is spending millions of dollars to defeat the conservative candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in hopes of placing Judge Janet Protasiewicz on the bench and flipping the court majority to the liberal side.
A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund has spent more than $4 million so far on internet and TV ads focused on the Supreme Court election, first opposing conservative candidate Judge Jennifer Dorow in the primary, then against Daniel Kelly in the general election. Better Wisconsin’s spending helped ensure that Protasiewicz, who has the support of the national Democratic Party, is competing against an archconservative abortion opponent who may be unpopular with suburban and female voters.
A Better Wisconsin received $500,000 from State Victory Action, a Raleigh, N.C. fund, on Jan. 31. The Soros PAC contributed $834,000 of the $1.5 million State Victory Fund raised in 2022, according to Opensecrets.org. Better Wisconsin also received $100,000 from the Toolbox Fund in Arlington, Va., a group formed in July 2022 by a consumer-products plaintiff lawyer that reported exactly that amount in contributions in 2022.
Democrats nationwide are pouring millions of dollars into the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Republican critics say the Milwaukee judge, a former prosecutor, has been too easy on criminals in some egregious cases. Democrats see control of the state’s highest court as an essential brake against the Republican-controlled legislature. Adimpact Politics estimated more than $13 million has been spent on the Wisconsin Supreme Court race since the primary, $8.3 million by Democrats and $4.9 million by Republicans.
The support from Soros could elicit comparisons between Protasiewicz, a longtime prosecutor before she became a judge, and progressive prosecutors the billionaire philanthropist has backed in elections nationwide, including Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Critics have accused Soros of promoting prosecutors who fail to pursue cases against violent criminals and ignore the rights of victims.
A Better Wisconsin started criticizing the conservative Supreme Court candidates last year, describing Kelly and Dorow as “extreme” and threats to women’s health. In a March 6 news release about controversial blog posts Kelly made, Communications Manager Lucy Ripp said: “At every turn Dan Kelly shows us, in his own words, he doesn’t share the views on the issues or the values of the vast majority of the people of Wisconsin.”
“The danger with Dan Kelly is that the extremism he spews in his blog posts isn’t just talk. He’s shown us throughout his career, including his short time on the court before losing in 2020, that his extremism on these issues informs his actions.” Executive Director Chris Walloch cited “Kelly’s extremism on issues like abortion access and his shilling for right-wing special interests” in a March 3 post.
A Better Wisconsin Together, the group’s “issue advertising” arm, has run television ads urging viewers to “Tell Jennifer Dorow and Dan Kelly they’re too extreme on opposing access to abortion care,” and saying about Kelly, “He’s too extreme.”
While legally a nonpartisan election, Protaziewicz is supported by the Democratic Party, which has transferred at least $2.5 million to her campaign since she won the primary. Kelly has drawn support from conservative entities including WMC Issues Mobilization Council – for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce – which has reportedly spent more than $3 million on advertisements supporting him.