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Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly speaks during a candidate's forum in Madison on Nov. 19, 2019.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly speaks during a candidate's forum in Madison on Nov. 19, 2019.John Hart / Wisconsin State Journal via AP file

Business group adds $3 million to Wisconsin Supreme Court race

WMC Issues Mobilization Council booked $3.1 million worth of TV airtime ahead of the April runoff.

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In the two weeks since Wisconsin's Supreme Court primary, Democrats and liberal groups have been outpacing Republicans and conservatives in spending.

Now, a pro-business group is finally coming in to support former Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, the conservative candidate in the race, and attack his opponent.

The conservative WMC Issues Mobilization Council has booked over $3 million worth of TV ad space over the next month, ahead of the April 4 general election, according to ad tracking firm AdImpact.

WMC's ad buy is still less than Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz's campaign has planned in the next few weeks.

Ahead of next month's election, Protasiewicz's campaign has reserved over $5 million worth of air time. Since the February 21 primary, her campaign has spent $1.7 million.

Just one conservative group, Fair Courts America, has spent a similar amount of money on TV ads in the same time frame. They've spent $1.3 million, but only have $444,000 worth of ad time reserved in the coming weeks.

And, there's one liberal group that's keeping up in spending, too: A Better Wisconsin Together. The group has spent $1.2 million since the primary, but has no spending booked from now through the April 4 election.

Reserved spending can always change, so it's possible that each campaign and any outside groups involved will add to their ad reservations.

CORRECTION (March 10, 2023, 8:05 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the WMC Issues Mobilization Council. It is an unaffiliated business lobbying organization, not a GOP group.