Written by Ethan Mort
All spending as of 3/26/2025 10:00 AM ET
Wisconsin TV viewers can’t seem to catch a break. They’ve faced advertising targeting critical statewide elections each year since 2022. Wisconsin saw $362M in advertising targeting the state’s 2022 gubernatorial, House and Senate contests. In 2023, it's State Supreme Court race saw $40.1M, while 2024 saw $470M targeting WI’s Presidential, House, and Senate elections. This year, the partisan makeup of the state’s Supreme Court is on the line once again, resulting in $67.1M spent on advertising so far. With a week until election day, the contest has already seen $27M more than the 2023 WI Supreme Court race, making it the most expensive Supreme Court election on record.
Unlike the 2023 WI Supreme Court contest, which saw $9.9M in primary spending, all of 2025’s advertising has targeted Tuesday’s general election. Both Susan Crawford and Brad Schimel automatically advanced to this year’s general election. While both candidates are technically nonpartisan, Crawford is backed by Democrats while Republicans back Schimel. Each side has kept ad spending relatively close as Democratic advertisers have aired $31.1M worth of ads compared to Republicans’ $26.4M. Democrats also have a slight advantage in future reservations for the final week of the election: $4.9M to $4.7M.
Outside Groups and Elon Musk
Outside groups are making a significant impact on the election, accounting for 44% of all ad spending. One group in particular, Building America’s Future, has captured a lot of attention. The group, funded by Elon Musk, has spent $7.1M (11% of total spending), supporting Schimel. Musk’s investment in the race has attracted a lot of press, and has become a lightning rod for Democratic advertisers in the race. The Crawford campaign released a broadcast ad alleging Musk’s potential influence over Schimel, and pro-Crawford group Better Wisconsin Together also aired a digital ad about Musk. Although no broadcast ads from Republican advertisers mention Musk, the Schimel campaign tried to flip the influence argument on Crawford. The campaign aired an ad accusing Crawford’s allies as being “radical” on transgender rights. With Musk promising his involvement in future primaries and other elections around the country, WI’s Supreme Court race marks the first major test of Musk’s political influence after Donald Trump’s 2024 victory.
Schimel’s election effort has been greatly assisted by outside groups, as they’ve made up 59% of all Republican spending. In comparison, groups only comprise 31% of Democrat spending. The Crawford campaign is the contest’s leading advertiser with $24.6M in spending and reservations, nearly doubling the $13M placed by the Schimel campaign, the election’s second largest advertiser.
Republican advertisers have aired more on broadcast than Democrats: $17.0M to $14.6M. Despite the Republicans’ $2.5M advantage, Democratic advertisers have 1.6K more broadcast airings than Republicans. Why is this the case? Candidates are typically afforded more aggressive rate structures than outside groups. The Crawford campaign has a $6.1M broadcast advantage over Schimel’s campaign, enough to overcome the $8.7M broadcast advantage Republican groups hold over Democrats.
Crime and Abortion Define A Largely Negative Race
Broadcast messaging for this year’s WI Supreme Court election is largely mimicking the 2023 contest. Crime and abortion were the top two issues across broadcast ads in the 2023 election, and remain the top issues in 2025. This year’s contest has seen over 72K broadcast airings. Ads targeting crime make up 77% of that total, as it has been the primary topic for both parties. The issue is featured in 70% of all Democratic airings and 86% of Republican airings. As each side accuses the other of being weak on crime, messaging in the race has been largely negative, with 75% of broadcast airings categorized as negative or contrast ads.
The second most featured issue, abortion, is targeted in 22% of all airings. Unlike crime, abortion only played a significant role in Democrats’ broadcast messaging. The issue was featured in 34% of Democratic airings compared to just 4% for Republicans. The lone such Republican broadcast ad was from the Schimel campaign, featuring the candidate stating, “a judge's job is to apply the law, not make the law."
This year’s WI Supreme Court election has become the Badger State’s fourth most expensive non-Presidential contest on record, only trailing the 2022 Senate ($227M), 2024 Senate ($215) and 2022 gubernatorial ($128M) races. Wisconsin TV viewers won’t be able to catch much of a break after April 1st, with gubernatorial, Attorney General, Secretary of State, House, and State Legislative elections coming up in 2026. During last election cycle, WI saw $675M in total political ad spending, which ranked 5th in the nation. How much will Wisconsin see this year? Subscribe to our newsletter to stay in the know.
