Two state Supreme Court candidates have spent a record breaking $1.4 million on their campaigns for their April 3 election, according to their respective finance reports filed with the state Elections Board.
Madison attorney Linda Clifford spent $605,914, but was topped by Washington County Circuit Judge Annette Ziegler with $828,889.
""[The numbers] set the new record by a long shot,"" said Mike McCabe, executive Director of the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
McCabe said three special interest groups—the Republican-leaning Wisconsin Manufacturers Association, the Commerce and Club for Growth and the pro-Democratic Greater Wisconsin Committee—have outspent the candidates, pouring more than $1.7 million into the race.
""Interest groups used to focus on trying to influence lawmaking,"" McCabe said. ""They've reached a point where they are no longer content to simply try to influence the way laws are made; they also wanted to influence the way laws are interpreted and enforced.""
This brings the race's total spending to over $3 million, making it the most expensive Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign in history.
The reports filed detail spending from Jan. 1 through March 19, and McCabe predicts the candidates and groups will pour in last-minute funds before the April 3 election.
McCabe said he predicts the race will cost between $5 million and $6 million by the end of the campaign period.
