Three Billionaires Fuel Massive Cash Edge For Tom Tiffany

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (left) and U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany (right). Angela Major/WPR

Republican Tom Tiffany’s campaign for governor raised more than $26 million in less than three months, dominating Democratic challenger David Crowley’s figures. Nearly all of Tiffany’s latest haul came from three billionaires funneling money through the Republican Party of Wisconsin.

State campaign finance reports spanning July 1 through Sept. 23 show U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, raised around $26.3 million, while Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley raised around $10.2 million.

Both men relied heavily on a 2015 change to state campaign finance law allowing state parties to raise unlimited funds and make unlimited transfers to candidates, but Tiffany and the state GOP have taken things to a new level.

Around $24 million of Tiffany’s donations came directly from the Republican Party of Wisconsin, which reported getting about 93 percent of its money in that period from Illinois billionaires Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, owners of the business supply company Uline, along with Diane Hendricks of Beloit, who owns ABC Supply Co. Inc. The RPW raised over $28 million during the span. The Uihleins gave the party a combined $22 million, while Hendricks chipped in another $5.6 million.

Thanks to the megadonors stepping up, the state GOP has already raised three times as much money in 2026 than it brought in during the last race for governor in 2022.

A press release from the state GOP touted its “strongest fundraising position in recent memory.”

“These numbers are no accident. They’re a signal,” said RPW Chair Brian Schimming. “Wisconsin Republicans are unified, donors are all-in, and we have one of the strongest competitive edges we’ve had in years. We’re expanding the field, recruiting poll workers, and putting resources behind candidates who will fight for taxpayers. Democrats can spin all they want. The cash on hand tells the real story: momentum is on our side heading into November.”

Around $4 million of Crowley’s fundraising between July 1 and Sept. 23 came via transfers from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, trade unions and political action committees. The DPW reported bringing in nearly $6 million during the reporting period. Of that, there were million-dollar donations from Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Lynde Uihlein, who is a cousin of Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein and a $565,000 transfer from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ campaign fund. Evers declined to seek reelection this year.

The state Democratic party’s fundraising this year is down around 49 percent compared to its figures from 2022.

In a statement, Crowley claimed “three billionaires are trying to buy Wisconsin’s governor office for Congressman Tom Tiffany.”

“These billionaires aren’t spending this kind of money to help Wisconsin families. They’re doing it because they know Congressman Tom Tiffany will do their bidding, the same way he did in Washington when he protected billionaires in the Epstein files and gave his donors massive tax cuts.”

Despite being massively outspent by Tiffany, a Marquette University Law School Poll released Wednesday showed Crowley held a narrow lead in the race among registered voters in September. But the negative ad blitz facing him appears to have had an impact as Crowley’s support among independent voters dropped by 11 percentage points over the past month.

Tiffany’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on his fundraising haul and the majority coming from three people. In a December interview with PBS Wisconsin, Tiffany described the 2015 campaign finance law changes as a “billionaire loophole,” despite voting for the legislation that created it as a state senator a decade earlier.

While Democrats strongly criticized the changes at that time, the state party was able to use it to outraise Republicans in previous election cycles.

Funds from 3 billionaires give Tom Tiffany huge fundraising lead in race for governor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.