by Tina Antonis
Despite getting significant financial assistance from outside parties, Conservative Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel maintains that he is not for sale. Schimel’s opponent, liberal candidate Susan Crawford, has also benefited from outside funding, including a $1 million contribution from George Soros to the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Just this week, an Elon Musk-backed group spent $1.5 million on airtime in Wisconsin to support conservative Supreme Court nominee Brad Schimel over the next few weeks.
Then, according to state election records, a group supported mostly by Republican megadonor Richard Uihlein spent $1.35 million on TV advertising attacking Schimel’s opponent, leftist Supreme Court nominee Susan Crawford. But Schimel stated on Tuesday that he is not for sale. He stated that he and Crawford are receiving significant outside support in the April 1 election, which will determine the ideological dominance of the Supreme Court.
“Ultimately, the only answer to (the outside spending) is that the individual running for office — and frankly, this applies to all offices for the judicial, legislative, or executive branch — you can’t be for sale,” Schimel said at a Marquette University Law School debate. “People want to support you. They should be supporting you because they admire what you stand for, not because they want a certain outcome. But Schimel, a Waukesha County judge, can’t pretend to be startled by the Musk-funded nonprofit Building America’s Future’s impending TV ad campaign.
Earlier this month, at a conversation with a local Republican group, he mentioned Musk, the world’s wealthiest man and President Donald Trump’s close friend. He did so after Musk pushed people to vote for Schimel on X, the social media network founded by Tesla and SpaceX’s CEO. “Elon Musk noticed this race about a week and a half ago or so,” Schimel stated at a Lafayette County GOP meet and greet, according to audio obtained by the Journal Sentinel on February 2nd. “I don’t know if he’s found his checkbook, though.”
Schimel also stated last week that he hoped Fair Courts and other conservative organizations would enter the race “very soon” to alleviate the financial strain on his campaign. Both Fair Courts and Building America’s Future answered within a few days.
A law student at the Marquette University event on Tuesday questioned Schimel about the Musk group’s backing. Schimel delivered a cautious thank you to the group. It’s unclear if Building America’s Future is buying the commercials through its federal independent expenditure account or its nonprofit, but insiders believe it’s the latter because donations aren’t acknowledged.
“I appreciate anybody that will help me get my message out there because it’s hard to reach all the voters in Wisconsin,” Schimel told reporters Tuesday. Noting that he entered the race more than a year ago, he wishes he could just make bus tours and meet voters one-on-one. He claimed he had already visited all 72 counties.
“My purpose in getting the race 16 months before Election Day was to try to reach the voters, to bypass all of that so they could see who I am,” Schimel said before engaging in a bit of Schimel-speak. “They could check and find out that I don’t have any horns. … I’m not running on some agenda to undo anybody’s will.”
He then shifted gears and stated that Crawford had also benefited from outside assistance. Last month, Hungarian-American businessman George Soros donated $1 million to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, while Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker contributed $500,000, which was subsequently transferred to Crawford’s campaign.
He claimed that was distinct from the Musk organization spending money on its own, but he admitted, “It’s happening on both sides.” Indeed, Crawford has gotten $3 million from the state Democratic Party, out of a total of $7.7 million in donations. Schimel has collected approximately $1.7 million from the state GOP, out of a total of $5.1 million in campaign contributions.
The sole outside entity to make ”independent” expenditures on Crawford’s behalf is A Better Wisconsin Together, which has acknowledged spending $258,075 on the campaign. Lynde Uihlein, a liberal supporter from Milwaukee and cousin to Uline founder Richard Uihlein, donated $250,000 to the group earlier this year. Her maternal grandfather, Harry Lynde Bradley, co-founded Allen-Bradley and the Bradley Foundation with her granduncle, Lynde Bradley. Her father, David Vogel Uihlein Sr., was the heir to the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. Her paternal great-grandfather was named August Uihlein. Her brother, David Vogel Uihlein Jr., is the Bradley Foundation’s Vice Chairman. She is the niece of General Binding Corporation founder Edgar Uihlein, Richard’s father.
Crawford’s spokesman denied Schimel’s claim that he isn’t for sale.
Derrick Honeyman commented: “Brad Schimel has been caught begging for dirty cash before, and now Elon is the latest to answer his pleas.”
Sources:
Bice: Brad Schimel says he’s not for sale after Elon Musk group drops $1.5M in his race
SoundCloud: Schimel – Musk Checkbook
Related:
‘Soros of the right’ Elon Musk eyes progressive prosecutors as next target
The Fair Courts America PAC is operated and financed by billionaire Richard Uihlein and his spouse, Elizabeth. – SourceWatch
George Soros/Open Society Foundations
JB Pritzker is a businessman and politician from the United States who has been the 43rd governor of Illinois since January 2019. Pritzker, part of the affluent Pritzker family that controls the Hyatt hotel chain, has launched various venture capital and investment firms, such as the Pritzker Group, where he serves as managing partner.
Through the Pritzker Family Foundation, Pritzker has financed research and initiatives aimed at children living in poverty. Under the guidance of economist James Heckman, he endorsed the establishment of the Pritzker Consortium on Early Childhood Development at the University of Chicago. The Pritzker Family Foundation, along with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the Irving Harris Foundation, and the George Kaiser Family Foundation, is a primary supporter of the First Five Years Fund, which aims to concentrate national efforts and resources on high-quality,comprehensive early care and learning programs for children from birth to age five. In 2013, Pritzker collaborated with Goldman Sachs to finance the inaugural social impact bond aimed at early childhood education. – Wikipedia
The Bradley Foundation, previously the Allen-Bradley Foundation, was founded in 1942 and identifies itself as “a private, independent grantmaking entity located in Milwaukee.” – SourceWatch
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 