Dallet invests $200,000 in Supreme Court race
Candidate loaned money to campaign
MADISON - Milwaukee Judge Rebecca Dallet put $200,000 of her own money into her campaign for state Supreme Court, while attorney Tim Burns raised $120,000 for his run, campaign finance filings show.
A third candidate, Sauk County Circuit Court Judge Michael Screnock, has not yet raised any money, according to a campaign finance report he filed Monday.
The three are running to replace Justice Michael Gableman, who is not seeking a second term. Dallet and Burns have made appeals to Democrats, while Screnock has positioned himself as a conservative.
A Feb. 20 primary will narrow the field to two candidates. The general election is April 3.
Also Monday, Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel reported raising $298,000 in the first half of 2017 for his re-election bid. He had about $381,000 in the bank as of June 30.
Schimel faces a challenge from Democrat Josh Kaul, a Madison attorney fighting Wisconsin’s voter ID law. Kaul raised more than $175,000 since getting in the race in April and had more than $135,000 on hand as of the end of last month.
GOP Gov. Scott Walker raised $3.2 million in the first half of 2017 and had more than $2.4 million on hand on June 30.
Several Democrats are running or considering running against Walker, but many of them do not yet need to file reports. For instance, businessman Andy Gronik launched his campaign last week, but does not have to file a report now because he got into the race after the start of the new filing period.
State schools superintendent Tony Evers, who is considering a run for governor, raised more than $437,000 in the first half of the year. Most of that went toward his successful reelection campaign in April. He had about $28,000 in the bank as of June 30.
Two other potential Democratic candidates for governor had smaller hauls. In the first half of the year, state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma took in about $30,000 and state Rep. Dana Wachs of Eau Claire collected about $41,000.
Also Monday, campaign finance reform activist Mike McCabe filed initial paperwork to run for governor as a Democrat. McCabe previously said he was considering a run but hadn’t decided whether to do so as a Democrat or independent.
In the race for Supreme Court, Dallet reported she gave her campaign a $200,000 loan on June 29. Dallet, a Milwaukee County circuit judge since 2008, raised about $71,000 from others since she launched her campaign for the high court at the beginning of June.
Burns raised $120,000 since announcing his run in May, according to his campaign.
Screnock did not raise any money from when he announced his campaign June 16 to the end of that month, according to his filing. He had just $61 in the bank as of June 30.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this month reported that Burns and Dallet had family incomes that suggested they could put substantial money into their campaigns if they wanted.
The latest filings show Dallet has decided to go that route, at least initially.
Records show Dallet and her husband had state income tax bills of $57,134 in 2016, $35,253 in 2015 and $28,877 in 2014. That means they had income of at least $300,000 in each of those years.
Dallet makes about $131,000 as a judge. Her husband, Brad Dallet, is a real estate lawyer and partner at Husch Blackwell.
Burns, who litigates cases against insurers for the Madison office of the national law firm Perkins Coie, had state income tax bills of $41,479 in 2015 and $60,335 in 2014. That would mean he had income of at least $500,000 in those years.
His tax records for 2016 were not available because he sought an extension.
Screnock has had state income tax bills of between $5,200 and $6,800 since 2014. Like Dallet, he makes about $131,000 a year as a judge.