A Wisconsin College Republicans group raised more than $1 million last year thanks to dual $500,000 donations from two of the state’s biggest GOP megadonors.
The haul comes after years of relative fundraising obscurity from the organization, which brought in less than five figures during elections in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
A state fundraising report covering the second half of last year shows Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein each made $500,000 donations to the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans. Richard Uihlein, the CEO of ULINE, made the first donation on Dec. 18. Elizabeth Uihlein, the company’s president, made her contribution four days later.
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All told, the Uihlein contributions make up more than 83 percent of all the money the College Republican group has raised since 2009.
Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans President Nick Jacobs did not respond to a request for comment on the fundraising numbers. Last year, Jacobs received a $1 million check from Elon Musk during the billionaire’s failed attempt to flip the state’s Supreme Court back to conservative control.
Still, the group has been boasting about its fundraising on social media. On Thursday, the Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans posted an AI-generated image simulating four Democrats running for governor holding up their right hands. Above the computer-generated image is the caption: “Raise your hand if the College Republicans out-raised you in 2025.”
While there are two Republicans running for governor in Wisconsin — U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, and Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann — the College Republicans made their choice months ago. The group endorsed Tiffany the day he announced his candidacy, and the latest fundraising report shows the College Republicans transferred $83,000 to Tiffany’s campaign on Dec. 30.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin hasn’t picked a favorite in the GOP primary for governor yet, because the party’s constitution doesn’t allow it. Endorsements in statewide elections have to wait until after the annual convention. The College Republicans’ constitution only stipulates that a simple majority of the group’s five-member executive board is needed to endorse candidates.
Reacting to the College Republicans massive fundraising, the Young Democrats of Wisconsin issued a statement warning that Wisconsin elections “are once again being flooded with out-of-state billionaire money.”
“Let’s be clear about what this is — a billionaire-funded political operation, engineered from outside our state,” said Wisconsin Young Democrats Chair Jake Williams. “It pushes an extremist agenda that benefits the wealthy few at the expense of everyone else.”
Checks and balances: How unlimited donations and transfers changed Wisconsin elections
Under Wisconsin law, individuals cannot donate more than $20,000 to candidates running for governor, but political party committees can receive unlimited amounts and make unlimited transfers to candidates.
The change was made by Republican state lawmakers in 2015 and signed by former Gov. Scott Walker. Since then, the Uihleins, along with other Republican and Democratic megadonors, have been sending huge sums to state party committees, which in turn transfer the money to candidates.
Nick Ramos, the executive director of the campaign finance watchdog Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, told WPR it’s “important that we’re clear” about what the fundraising figures represent.
“When Wisconsin Federation of College Republicans reports raising that kind of money, what’s really happening is that a very small number of donors, and in this case, the Uihleins, are able to move enormous sums through the party infrastructure, and it’s legal under the current Wisconsin law,” said Ramos. “But legality and good public policy aren’t the same thing.”
Democrats condemned the GOP change to Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws when it was pased, but the Democratic Party of Wisconsin has used it to consistently outraise their Republican rivals.
Ramos said regardless of party, the state should put “reasonable limits on party to party transfers.”
“I think that would strengthen so that voters can see clearly who is funding this political activity,” said Ramos. “The goal isn’t to stop participation, it’s to prevent massive passthrough donations that defeat transparency.”
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