Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Campaign Cash

Schimel Chats Up Big Donors at Trump Resort

Event sponsored by group that gave $300,000 to state campaigns in 2014 election.

By - Nov 17th, 2017 12:52 pm
Brad Schimel. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

Brad Schimel. Photo from the State of Wisconsin.

Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel spent last weekend rubbing elbows with big campaign donors at a Florida event that was sponsored by an electioneering group that funneled $300,000 into Wisconsin during the 2014 elections.

The fall meeting of the Republican Attorneys General Association in Palm Beach, Fla., included tony dinners, boat tours, golf outings and meetings with donors who gave the association at least $125,000. The weekend meeting was held at two Florida resorts, including President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

The Republican Attorneys General Association is a 527 electioneering group so-named for the IRS laws that govern it. 527 groups are tax-exempt political nonprofit groups that can accept and spend unlimited amounts of contributions from individuals, corporations, trade groups and other wealthy special interests to spend on electioneering activities. Those activities include direct mail campaigns, negative issue advertising and voter registration drives.

Since January 2014, Wisconsin donors have contributed almost $170,000 to the association, led by Miller Coors Brewing, $80,400, and the Foley & Lardner law firm, $43,560, both in Milwaukee.

In late September 2014, the association gave $300,000 to Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC), the state’s largest business group. Shortly after that, WMC spent an estimated $1.5 million on two television ads to support Schimel.

The Republican Attorneys General Association’s state political action committee (PAC) also contributed $21,560 in 2014 directly to Schimel’s campaign.

Among the association’s top donors are billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, the owners of Koch Industries, who have spent tens of millions of dollars to back conservative and Republican candidates and causes over the years. Koch Industries PAC contributed $10,000 to Schimel’s campaign in 2014.

3 thoughts on “Campaign Cash: Schimel Chats Up Big Donors at Trump Resort”

  1. Terry says:

    This is greeeaaazy. Really greazy…So much for a nonpartisan, impartial AG. Greazy GOP.
    Dump the GOP!

  2. myfivecents says:

    What is it Scottie is always saying about out of state Democratic donors? He ought to take a good long look in a mirror and say that to himself. The pot calling the kettle black; hypocrites once again.

  3. A Prire says:

    Touche’ to both of the above.

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us