Top Donors to Superintendent Candidates

Here are the top contributors since Feb. 7 to the two candidates vying for state school superintendent in next Tuesday’s spring general election. (Top contributors from the previous campaign finance reporting periods can be found here and here.)

The incumbent, Tony Evers, was first elected in 2009, and reelected in 2013. Evers faces Lowell Holtz, a former superintendent for the Beloit and Whitnall school districts.

One of the key policy differences between the two candidates is the state’s school voucher program, which Holtz supports and Evers believes is a drain on state support to public schools.

Evers is generally supported by Democrats and Holtz is generally backed by Republicans, even though spring elections are officially nonpartisan. For instance, the latest candidate fundraising and spending reports show Evers accepted about $63,700 from unions and Democratic candidate and party committees, and Holtz accepted about $13,200 from county and congressional GOP parties and a former Republican lawmaker’s campaign committee.

Top Contributions to DPI Candidate Tony Evers since Feb. 7

Tony Evers.

MTI Voters Political Action Committee (Madison teachers union) $18,000

WEAC Region 3 PAC $10,286

Wisconsin People Conference PAC $10,000

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 494 $6,000

MTEA PAC (Milwaukee teachers union) $5,000

WEAC Region 7 PAC $5,000

WEAC Region 6 PAC $5,000

United Auto Workers State PAC $2,500

Green Bay PAC $2,500

Wisconsin Laborers District Council PAC $2,500

Plumbers Local 75 PAC $2,500

Operating Engineers Local 139 PAC $2,000

Top Contributions to DPI Candidate Lowell Holtz since Feb. 7

Lowell Holtz. Photo from Facebook.

Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, Lake Forest, Ill., owners of Uline Corp. $25,000

Richard Wilkey, of Hartland, chief executive officer of Fisher Barton $5,000

Milwaukee County Republican Party $5,000

Steven Einhorn, of Milwaukee, president of Capital Midwest Fund $5,000

Donald Utschig, of Appleton, owner of Limelite Premium Fusion Beverage $4,000

Duane Foulkes, of Beaver Dam, owner of Apache Stainless Steel $2,500

Oneida County Republican Party $2,500

Paul Schierl, of Green Bay, president of the Cornerstone Foundation $2,500

Jere Dhein, of Green Bay, owner of Tosca Ltd. $2,000

The employer information for these large donors was added by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign because new campaign finance laws effective last year no longer require candidates to make that contributor information available to the public. Previous state law required candidates to identify the employers and occupations of individuals who contributed more than $100 annually. Now, candidates only have to identify a large contributor’s occupation, which usually amounts to meaningless references, such as owner, president, or executive.

To view how much the candidates have raised and spent, as well as the candidates’ top contributors for the entire election cycle, please visit the Campaign 2017 feature on the Democracy Campaign’s website.