Spotlight on Wisconsin

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

In four critical Wisconsin state Senate races last year, groups making independent campaign expenditures actually spent more than the candidates themselves.

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Asked to describe the connection between money and politics, Kelda Helen Roys drops one adjective, then another: “Inseparable.” “Insufferable.”

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

As Darcy Haber sees it, being a member of the Wisconsin Realtors Association is not an option; it’s a professional necessity. Otherwise, the Madison Realtor would not have access to the Multiple Listing Service, a critical industry tool for tracking properties.

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

During the first six months of this year, the Independent Insurance Agents of Wisconsin reported spending $36,377 on lobbying, twice as much as during the entire previous two-year period. Much of its effort was in support of a bill to tweak insurance coverage limits and policy provisions.

Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Some Wisconsin residents are still reeling from this summer’s recall elections, in which spending on nine state Senate races was estimated at $44 million, or about $57 per vote. But, as a wise man once said, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

The campaign to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker is about to begin, and a little-known quirk in the state’s campaign finance law that played a minor role in the recent recalls could play a major role here.