College - Prince Speech Canceled

Wisconsin billionaire Diane Hendricks attends a forum at Beloit College on March 27, 2019. The Beloit industrialist recently wrote a check to the Daniel Kelly campaign for $20,000 and made a $200,000 contribution to the Wisconsin Republican Party, which is supporting Kelly in the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court. (Angela Major / The Janesville Gazette via AP)

Days before the Wisconsin Supreme Court election a major union representing transit workers wrote an $18,000 check to Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign.

For the Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents bus drivers and mechanics, it was a huge donation compared with their previous donation to a Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate in 2018 for just $250.

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Amalgamated Transit Union Local 998 president Donnell Shorter, left, speaks with a union Milwaukee bus driver. ATU, which represents 200,000 transit workers across North America, has contributed the maximum $18,000 allowed to Janet Protasiewicz’s Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign. In past years it would contribute just a few hundred dollars. (Photo courtesy of ATU)

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Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson speaks at TechCrunch Disrupt in 2016 in his hometown San Francisco. He and his wife each contributed the maximum $20,000 to liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz’s campaign a week before the February primary. (Liz Hafalia / San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

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Former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly has raised less money than his opponent, but outside groups have spent more on his campaign. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)

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Brennan Center for Justice lawyer Douglas Keith says dark money groups – in which campaign donors are not publicly disclosed – have given conservative Daniel Kelly a slight edge in fundraising in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. (Photo courtesy of Brennan Center for Justice)

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Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly take part in a debate at the State Bar Center in Madison, Wis., on March 21, 2023. (Joey Prestley / Wisconsin Watch)

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Matt Rothschild, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, speaks at a 2018 rally for nonpartisan redistricting. Rothschild says campaign donations from mega donors from across the political spectrum are drowning out ordinary Wisconsinites. (Cameron Smith / Wisconsin Watch)

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Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz has raised far more than opponent Daniel Kelly in individual donations, although a large share of her funding comes from a small number of ultra wealthy donors. (Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Watch)