Tom Tiffany and Wisconsin Republicans are bought and paid for.
They'll serve the billionaires who fund them — not us.
Since January 2025, two out-of-state-connected billionaire families have poured $91.7 million into Wisconsin campaigns — including a $32.6 million surge to the state party alone in just the ten weeks between mid-July and late September 2026 — reaching the race for governor, the race for attorney general, and legislative campaigns in nearly every contested district.
Figures current through September 30, 2026, drawn from Wisconsin campaign finance filings and A Better Wisconsin Together's October 1, 2026 press release.
Two Families, One Playbook
This isn't grassroots giving. It's two ultra-wealthy families — one headquartered two hours south in Lake Bluff, Illinois, one built on a Beloit, Wisconsin roofing fortune — writing checks large enough to decide who runs state government.
How the Money Moves
Wisconsin law caps what a billionaire can hand a candidate directly at $20,000 — a rounding error next to their fortunes. It caps nothing they hand a party or candidate committee, and nothing a PAC spends independently on a candidate's behalf. State Republicans wrote that loophole into law in 2015 — and Tom Tiffany voted for it himself, back when he was a state legislator. He's now its single biggest beneficiary.
Where the Money Is Going
Broken out by committee and PAC, this is what $86.6 million of the $91.7 million total looks like once it lands.
And it's accelerating. Between July 15 and September 23, 2026 — about ten weeks — these same billionaires sent $32.6 million to the Republican Party of Wisconsin, $5.5 million to the Assembly GOP campaign committee, $1.75 million to the Senate GOP campaign committee, and $10 million to the Restoration of America PAC.
In that same ten-week stretch, Tom Tiffany pulled in over $24 million in transfers from the state party alone — nearly all of the $26.5 million the party has sent him all cycle.
Top of the Ticket
Tiffany can only accept $20,000 personally from these donors under Wisconsin law. He voted to make sure that didn't matter — the same money reaches him anyway, through a committee and a PAC that face no such limit.
- $26.5M transferred from the state party — over $24M of it arriving in just the ten weeks between mid-July and late September 2026
- $13.0M in independent spending from the Restoration of America PAC
- $996K transferred from the WI Federation of College Republicans
- $60K in personal maxed-out checks
Not Just the Top of the Ticket
This isn't happening in one race. The same two donors have personally maxed out to dozens of Republican legislative candidates, and party money has followed close behind — in campaign after campaign. Here's what's reached individual candidates so far, largest first.
| Candidate | Billionaire-connected $ | Personally maxed out by |
|---|---|---|
| Croft | $1,469,540 | Hendricks |
| Zimmerman | $1,302,055 | Uihlein |
| Skinner | $791,322 | Hendricks |
| Franklin | $684,509 | Hendricks |
| Snyder | $665,202 | Hendricks |
| Daniels | $645,095 | Hendricks |
| Novak | $505,385 | Hendricks |
| Moses | $386,362 | Hendricks |
| Marklein | $342,225 | Hendricks |
| Roberts | $199,026 | Hendricks |
| Donovan | $155,416 | Hendricks |
| Purnell | $134,990 | Hendricks |
Candidates listed by surname as reported in Wisconsin campaign finance filings. "Billionaire-connected $" combines each candidate's direct contributions, party and committee transfers, and in-kind support traced to Richard Uihlein, Elizabeth Uihlein, or Diane Hendricks. Every candidate listed has also received Republican Party of Wisconsin and legislative-committee money on top of the personal max-out shown.
In the News
This isn't just our analysis — it's been covered by independent reporters and newsrooms across the state.
- 3 billionaires give Republican Tom Tiffany a big cash boost in the Wisconsin governor's race Associated Press (Scott Bauer) · October 1, 2026
- $35 million (so far): Uihleins, Hendricks load up Wisconsin GOP thru loophole The Badger Project · August 24, 2026
- Tiffany raised $26 million in two months thanks to transfers from state party fueled by its billionaire backers WisPolitics · October 2026
Dollar totals on this page are compiled from Wisconsin campaign finance filings covering January 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026. The recent-quarter figures (mid-July through late September 2026) and the loophole's 2015 legislative origin are from A Better Wisconsin Together's October 1, 2026 press release. See related earlier reporting from A Better Wisconsin Together and the independent news coverage above. Totals will keep growing as more contributions are reported.
Have a question about how a number was calculated, or want the underlying filings? Get in touch.