Like it or not, you are likely just a few months away from another heavy dose of political commercials.
According to National Public Radio, more than $10.5 billion was spent on the 2024 election cycle, up $1 billion over 2020. In Wisconsin, $196 million was poured into the U.S. Senate race between Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin and Republican candidate Eric Hovde, according to OpenSecrets.org. Next on the horizon is the spring election, featuring a Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. Though technically a non-partisan race, the dollars spent on past Wisconsin Supreme Court elections has been anything but. Well over $50 million was spent on the last Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice race between Janet Protasiewicz and Daniel Kelly.
With the ideological balance of the court at stake, Common Cause Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck says he would not be shocked if another contentious election along partisan lines were in the cards. He does hope that after the last election, both political parties will realize they have to work together to get more things done for the state.
Most of the other items on the ballot are local elections and referendums. Candidates can begin circulating their nomination papers for the Spring 2025 election on December 1st.
