GOP’s Redistricting Lawyers Are Big Donors
Lawyers paid $2.1 million to defend gerrymandering, give $76,000 to politicians.
Attorneys with two law firms hired Thursday by GOP legislative leaders to represent them in a landmark redistricting case have contributed about $76,500 to Wisconsin candidates.
The vote to hire the firms, Kirkland & Ellis, of Chicago, and Bell Giftos St. John, of Madison, was made in secret by two Senate and Assembly committees controlled by Republican legislative leaders. Democratic leaders opposed the hiring. Republicans on the committees, who voted to hire the firms with no limit on how much they will be paid, were:
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Rochester
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, of Kaukauna
Rep. Rob Brooks, of Saukville
Rep. Dan Knodl, of Germantown
Rep. Tyler August, of Lake Geneva
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, of Juneau
Senate President Roger Roth, of Appleton
Sen. Leah Vukmir, of Brookfield
The GOP leaders hired the lawyers to file friend-of-court briefs in support of the state’s appeal, which is being handled by Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel. Kirkland & Ellis attorneys regularly charge more than $800 an hour.
But last year, a panel of three federal judges ruled that legislative redistricting maps drawn up by majority Republicans in 2011 were so favorable to their party that they violated the voting rights of Democrats and were therefore unconstitutional. Last month, the same panel of judges ordered the legislature to create new maps by Nov. 1.
Attorneys for Kirkland & Ellis contributed about $75,500 mostly to Republicans for statewide office and the legislature between January 2010 and October 2016. The top recipients were:
Republican Gov. Scott Walker, $48,660;
Former Democratic candidate for governor Tom Barrett, $19,800;
GOP Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, $2,500;
Fitzgerald, $1,300;
Roth, $1,000;
Former Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke, $1,000.
Kevin St. John, an attorney with Bell Giftos St. John, contributed $1,000 to former Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen between January 2010 and October 2016. St. John was Van Hollen’s deputy attorney general from 2011 through 2015.
Matthew Rothschild is executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
More about the Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts
- Data Wonk: Examining Wisconsin Gerrymandering By Analyzing 2022 Election Results - Bruce Thompson - Jan 13th, 2023
- DOJ Joins Coalition Urging Supreme Court Not to Weaken Voting Rights Act Protections in Alabama Redistricting Case - Wisconsin Department of Justice - Jul 25th, 2022
- The State of Politics: How Republicans Won Redistricting Fight - Steven Walters - Apr 25th, 2022
- Redistricting Update - Wisconsin Elections Commission - Apr 18th, 2022
- Gov. Evers Releases Statement Reacting to Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Regarding Redistricting - Gov. Tony Evers - Apr 15th, 2022
- Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District Might Be Competitive Again - Shawn Johnson - Apr 15th, 2022
- Data Wonk: State’s Gerrymander Could Last Forever - Bruce Thompson - Mar 30th, 2022
- Op Ed: US Supreme Court Throws State Election Into Chaos - Ruth Conniff - Mar 27th, 2022
- Redistricting Case Returns to State Supreme Court - Shawn Johnson - Mar 25th, 2022
- Gov. Evers Releases Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Decision Regarding Redistricting - Gov. Tony Evers - Mar 23rd, 2022
Read more about Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts here
Campaign Cash
-
Republican Group a Leading Fundraiser
Sep 6th, 2021 by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
-
Legislative Campaign Committees Awash in Cash
Aug 2nd, 2021 by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
-
Democrats Raise 5 Times More Than GOP
Jul 29th, 2021 by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is one of the most valuable organizations in watching WI elections; since Citizens United declared that corporation were persons, this organization allows citizens to know how much these “persons” are investing in their own future with politicians. One other point to be made on the redrawing of the legislative maps. The legislation to hire a law firm for any amount, unlimited, and any hourly figure, undefined, also left open-ended which law firm by adding, or any other firm. This will apparently be done in secret and could again be the law firm of Reince Priebus. Taxpayers will not know and the fine service of WDC will be unable to track.