Supreme Court candidate Michael Screnock raised $231,861 over the first five weeks of the year, with almost half of that coming from the Republican Party of Wisconsin through in-kind donations, according to his report filed with the state Ethics Commission.
The state GOP contributed $76,757 for digital ads, $28,336 for mailing services and $5,866 for staff between Jan. 1 and Feb. 5.
That does not include the $31,125 the state GOP gave the Sauk County judge’s campaign after the pre-primary period last week, meaning the party’s investment totals at least $142,084.
The state GOP has been active in Supreme Court races before and was the largest donor to Justice Rebecca Bradley’s campaign in 2016 with almost $69,176 in contributions for the entire race. The party doubled that for Screnock more than a week before the Feb. 20 primary.
During the pre-primary period, Screnock spent $200,794 and had $90,212 left in the bank to close the period. The in-kind donations from the state GOP also count toward Screnock’s spending totals.
He also listed $7,507 in outstanding obligations.
By comparison, Milwaukee County Judge Rebecca Dallet raised $91,746 in the pre-primary period, while Middleton attorney Tim Burns pulled in $79,041. Neither listed donations from a political party.
