Local Races Attract Out-Of-State Super PACs

Two out-of-state political action committees (PACs) spent $248,000 on 18 candidates in city and county races in Wisconsin in the two weeks leading up to the April 5 spring elections.

Open Democracy PAC, a left-leaning Washington, D.C. SuperPAC, spent $224,326 on independent expenditures to support a dozen local candidates with digital ads from March 23 through April 5. The ads support candidates for the Green Bay, Eau Claire, and De Pere city councils, Kenosha County executive, and Waukesha mayor. Spending ranged from $7,500 to $30,000 per candidate.

Open Democracy PAC’s website said it was created to help elect candidates who support making it easier to vote, eliminating racial barriers to voting, and enacting automatic voter registration.

Another SuperPAC called Restoration PAC based in Downers Grove, Ill. spent $23,679 on independent expenditures on March 22 on brochures to support six candidates for Green Bay City Council. Two of the candidates are also vying for seats on the Brown County Board. Spending ranged from $2,190 to $5,944 per candidate.

Since 2016, Restoration PAC has been almost solely funded by billionaire conservative Richard Uihlein.

Uihlein and his wife, Elizabeth, of Lake Forest, Ill., founded Uline, a shipping and packaging supply company. The couple are among the leading backers of Republican and conservative state and federal candidates and causes in the country.

In 2018, Restoration PAC spent $4.2 million to support Wisconsin GOP U.S. Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson, who lost the Republican primary to Leah Vukmir, and oppose incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who went on to win reelection.

Outside election spending in local races can have a great impact on the outcome of those contests because many candidates may only raise and spend a few thousand dollars, depending on the size of the community or the pool of voters affected by the race.

For instance, Restoration PAC spent $4,301 on digital ads to support Melinda Eck for Green Bay City Council. Eck’s most recent campaign finance report posted on the City of Green Bay website shows she raised $2,640 and spent $598 between mid-November and mid-January and had $2,042 in cash on hand.