Wisconsin Republicans Reconsider Fundraising, Messaging

Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming, right, shakes hands with U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, left, as he takes the stage Saturday, May 17, 2025, during the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention in Rothschild, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

Following repeated spring election losses to Democrats, and facing a future without President Donald Trump boosting base turnout at the top of presidential tickets, the Republican Party of Wisconsin must increase its out-of-state fundraising, an internal review recommends.

The report was prepared by a post-election commission assembled by the party in the aftermath of several disappointing recent elections — notably three spring state Supreme Court races in which a Democratic-backed candidate decisively defeated one supported by Republicans. In addition to more aggressive fundraising, it also calls for better coordination with county parties and outside groups.

State Treasurer John Leiber, a Republican who chaired the commission and helped prepare the report in his personal capacity, said a central theme of his findings was making sure that “every Republican gets out for every election.”

“If the other side is motivated, energized, we’ll lose,” he said. “We have to treat every single election in this state from now on as a high-turnout election, and approach it as such.”

Wisconsin State Treasurer John Leiber speaks to reporters Thursday, July 18, 2024, at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Milwaukee, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

The report recommends that the party better strategize spending decisions based on the peculiarities of Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws. For example, whereas there are caps on how much an individual candidate can raise, state parties can raise unlimited amounts of money — which they can funnel to candidates. The strategy has an added benefit to candidates because they get better rates for TV ads than outside groups or political action committees do.

The report also says the party must “ensure third-party groups reinforce, rather than overshadow, candidate and party messaging,” and encourage outside donors to give directly to the party or its preferred candidates.

“Did we lose the money race? When you look at all the numbers, the spending, the spending was about equal on both sides. But who actually was spending the money was very different,” Leiber said. “The same dollar with the campaign is sometimes worth as much as $2 spent by an outside party.”

The commission surveyed state and county parties, and interviewed grassroots groups and candidates. Its results come months after a third consecutive state Supreme Court race went to the liberal candidate by around 10 points, and more than a year out from midterm elections that will choose a new Wisconsin governor and could determine control of Congress. That election could also provide clues about the overall health of both parties, at a time when both Trump’s signature policies and the Democratic Party as a whole are widely unpopular.

In a statement, state GOP Chair Brian Schimming — who fielded calls for his resignation after April’s state Supreme Court race, in which now-Justice Susan Crawford beat conservative Judge Brad Schimel by 10 points — said the party is “committed to turning this year’s setbacks into next year’s victories.”

Justice Elect Susan Crawford gives a thumbs up to the crowd during her election night speech Tuesday, April 1, 2025, at Park Hotel in Madison, Wis. She is joined by members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Angela Major/WPR

In April’s race, conservatives actually had about a $3 million overall edge in spending, according to data from WisPolitics. But the Democratic dollars went farther, with about twice as much spent on advertising. That’s partly because the single largest financial supporter of Schimel was Elon Musk, who bought ads himself or through his aligned PACs.

The GOP report also calls for more involvement of county parties year-round, focusing on growing membership and aligning local offices with campaigns and statewide leadership. That’s reflective of well-publicized disputes between grassroots and mainstream factions of the party in recent years.

“We need a better way of getting everybody on the same page,” Leiber said. “Because if every county is trying to reinvent the wheel, it’s kind of a wasted effort. And if everybody is not on the same page, they may be working at cross purposes.”

A ‘two-electorate problem’

Wisconsin Republicans had a remarkably successful November, delivering the swing state to Trump and coming close to ousting Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a popular incumbent.

But they struggle with midterm and off-cycle elections, according to Anthony Chergosky, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Chergosky describes the fundamental problem as one of “two electorates” — one that turns out in presidential races, and one that turns out the rest of the time.

“The two electorates problem is that the electorate in a presidential election is different than the electorate in other elections, and the gap is particularly glaring when comparing a presidential election to a spring election,” he said.

Merchandise is sold Saturday, May 17, 2025, at the Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention in Rothschild, Wis. Angela Major/WPR

That challenge will only grow for Republicans when Trump is no longer the party’s standard-bearer, energizing voters who do not ordinarily vote at all.

“Republicans have benefited enormously from high voter turnout in presidential elections because Donald Trump has proven to have a unique ability to engage voters who don’t always show up to the polls,” Chergosky said. “His message has resonated with voters who are not so interested in politics.”

That was apparent in the massive drop-off in turnout for Schimel. He won just 63 percent as many votes as Trump, while Crawford won 79 percent of former Vice President Kamala Harris’ vote total in Wisconsin.

Some of that springtime advantage is also explained by changes in the overall electorate, said Chergosky. Democrats increasingly have an edge among highly educated voters, who are more likely to be engaged in non-presidential election cycles. Chergosky argued that Republicans will have to do more than just tweak their fundraising and messaging strategies to energize voters for springtime and midterm elections.

Taking a page from the Democrats’ playbook

When it comes to campaign finance, Wisconsin Republicans are playing catch-up to their state counterparts in the Democratic Party, who until recently were helmed by Ben Wikler. Nationally recognized for his fundraising prowess, Wikler leveraged Republican-written campaign finance laws to bring in millions for Democrats.

In April, that translated into a national fundraising machine for Crawford. According to WisPolitics, she raised $14.7 million from out-of-state individual contributions, compared to $1.1 million in out-of-state individual donations for Schimel.

Chergosky said that’s because Wikler “made the cause of the Wisconsin Democrats the cause of all Democrats nationwide.”

“He was able to emphasize how the political battles in Wisconsin had national symbolic importance or national relevance to Democrats all over,” Chergosky said. “I think the challenge for Wisconsin Republicans is to replicate that and to convey to nationwide donors that what happens in Wisconsin is nationally important.”

Leiber echoed that sentiment, saying Republicans “need to be catching up to” Democrats’ ability to court high-income, out-of-state donors.

“It’s not a matter of what we want to do. It’s a matter of what we need to do to win,” he said. “We do need to do better outreach to other states and make the case better (as to) why Wisconsin is where they can get the most bang for their buck.”

Leiber said he and other Republican Party leaders have increasingly been making the case to outside political groups that Wisconsin’s close races are worth investing in.

“Wisconsin was the closest in the last presidential election, and I don’t think that’s going to really change in the next decade,” Leiber said. “So any impact in Wisconsin is going to have magnified effects across the national political spectrum.”

Those Republicans will have two opportunities to test out these recommendations in the next 15 months. Another state Supreme Court election is scheduled for April. And Wisconsin’s 2026 November ballot will see high-stakes battles for control of the state Legislature, the governor’s office and two competitive U.S. House seats.

Listen to the WPR report

After disappointing spring, Wisconsin GOP reconsiders fundraising, messaging strategy was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.