As the race to determine whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court will retain its conservative majority heats up, it has become the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history, and the state GOP has filed an ethics complaint over alleged campaign finance violations.
Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly are vying for a 10-year term as they seek to take the seat of a conservative justice who is retiring at the end of her term in July.
While the state Supreme Court election is nonpartisan, Protasiewicz is viewed as the liberal candidate, and Kelly as the conservative, with the former receiving millions of dollars from the Wisconsin Democratic Party and Republicans funding ads supporting Kelly.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission in early March regarding alleged violations of state campaign finance laws committed by Organizing Empowerment PAC and Wisconsin Takes Action, which is a project of the Democratic PAC. In the complaint, the GOP alleges that Wisconsin Takes Action "Has spent over the $2,500 threshold in supporting a candidate but has failed to register with the Ethics Commission."
The complaint further alleges Wisconsin Takes Action has sent "a myriad of texts to voters in Wisconsin offering to pay them to encourage people within their network to vote" in the April election.
When reached for comment on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Ethics Commission told Just the News that since complaints are confidential, it cannot confirm the receipt of a complaint nor whether there is an investigation into one.
Protasiewicz has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood and EMILY's List, while Kelly has received endorsements from Wisconsin Right to Life, Wisconsin Family Action, and Pro-Life Wisconsin.
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