Republican primary elections for 17 of 33 districts in the Wisconsin State Senate took place on Aug. 9, 2022. Of the 17 districts up for election in 2022, nine had a Republican primary election with more than one candidate.

Across all contested Republican primary elections, candidates raised $1.2 million. Incumbents raised an average of $147,163 per candidate and challengers raised an average of $35,623 per candidate.

Five primary elections with the most fundraising

The table below details the five Republican primary elections with the most fundraising in the State Senate. Winning candidates’ names are in bold.

The officeholders above are listed for the current districts they hold. However, this is a redistricting year, so candidates have been identified below as incumbents even if they are running in a different district than they currently hold.

#1 District 9 – $291,906

Incumbent Devin LeMahieu raised $287,190, Ruth Villareal raised $3,591, and Jeanette Deschene raised $1,125.

Devin LeMahieu advanced to the general election with 71 percent of the vote, Ruth Villareal received 20 percent of the vote, and Jeanette Deschene received 9 percent of the vote.

#2 District 13 – $256,080

Incumbent John Jagler raised $228,815 and Todd Menzel raised $27,265.

John Jagler advanced to the general election and Todd Menzel withdrew.

#3 District 23 – $226,057

Brian Westrate raised $149,427, Jesse James raised $66,015, and Sandra Scholz raised $10,616.

Jesse James advanced to the general election with 50 percent of the vote, Brian Westrate received 37 percent of the vote, and Sandra Scholz received 13 percent of the vote.

#4 District 19 – $214,674

Rachael Cabral-Guevara raised $143,828, Andrew Thomsen raised $47,616, and Anthony Phillips raised $23,230.

Rachael Cabral-Guevara advanced to the general election with 64 percent of the vote, Andrew Thomsen received 36 percent of the vote, and Anthony Phillips withdrew.

#5 District 29 – $123,774

Brent Jacobson raised $108,961, Jon Kaiser raised $14,813, and Cory Tomczyk raised $0.

Cory Tomczyk advanced to the general election with 43 percent of the vote, Brent Jacobson received 39 percent of the vote, and Jon Kaiser received 18 percent of the vote.

The data above are based on campaign finance reports that active Wisconsin PACs submitted to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Federal PACs are not required to report to state agencies. Transparency USA publishes campaign finance data following major reporting deadlines. State or federal law may require filers to submit additional reports.

This article is a joint publication from Ballotpedia and Transparency USA, who are working together to provide campaign finance information for state-level elections. Learn more about our work here.