Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023

Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly receive $20,000 from a co-chairman of the Federalist Society?

yes

According to a campaign finance filing with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission, Leonard Leo donated $20,000 to conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly on Feb. 16 — the maximum allowed under state law.

Leo, a prominent conservative lawyer, is the co-chairman of The Federalist Society, which advocates checking federal power, protecting individual liberty and interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning. Six U.S. Supreme Court justices and dozens of U.S. appeals court judges are affiliated with the society.

Leo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for conservative causes and recently secured a $1.6 billion donation for his nonprofit, the Marble Freedom Trust, which funds conservative organizations.

Outside groups have already spent more on the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election than any such race before it. The April 4 face-off between Kelly and liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz is on pace to become the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

State of Wisconsin Special Report of Late Contribution | Friends of Justice Daniel Kelly
State of Wisconsin Ethics Commission Campaign Finance: Contribution Limits
Federalist Society Leonard A. Leo
Washington Post Conquerors of the Courts
Washington Post A conservative activist's behind-the-scenes-campaign to remake the nation's courts
New York Times An Unusual $1.6 Billion Donation Bolsters Conservatives
Wisconsin State Journal Outside groups shatter Wisconsin Supreme Court spending record with a month left in race

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Did Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly receive $20,000 from a co-chairman of the Federalist Society?

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