General elections for 17 of 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate will take place on Nov. 8, 2022. State senatorial primary elections were held on Aug. 9, 2022. Republicans hold a 21-12 majority heading into the election.

This article details the five candidates in each party who raised the most money and lost their primary election. In the 2022 election cycle, nine of 17 Republican primaries and three of 15 Democratic primaries were contested. The losing candidates are shown along with the percentage of the vote they received compared to the primary winner. In cases where the race was pushed to a runoff, vote percentages for both advancing candidates are included.

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns this cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission covering the period of Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• Tom Palzewicz – $41,444 – District 5 (Lost primary 46% – 54%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary were:

• Brian Westrate – $149,427 – District 23 (Lost primary 37% – 50%)
• Brent Jacobson – $108,961 – District 29 (Lost primary 39% – 43%)
• Andrew Thomsen – $47,616 – District 19 (Lost primary 36% – 64%)
• Jon Kaiser – $14,813 – District 29 (Lost primary 18% – 43%)
• Jay Stone – $12,350 – District 21 (Lost primary 25% – 75%)

Top fundraisers with unsuccessful primary campaigns last cycle

This information comes from candidate reports to the Wisconsin Ethics Commission covering the period of Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2020.

The Democratic candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• Nada Elmikashfi – $61,524 – District 26 (Lost primary 27% – 40%)
• Amani Latimer Burris – $24,799 – District 26 (Lost primary 9% – 40%)
• John Imes – $13,676 – District 26 (Lost primary 6% – 40%)
• Michelle Bryant – $11,858 – District 6 (Lost primary 20% – 80%)
• Brian Benford – $7,258 – District 26 (Lost primary 10% – 40%)

The Republican candidates who raised the most money and lost their primary in 2020 were:

• Dan Griffin – $67,601 – District 28 (Lost primary 21% – 41%)
• Cherie Link – $59,150 – District 10 (Lost primary 35% – 65%)
• Steve Bobowski – $19,161 – District 28 (Lost primary 23% – 41%)
• Marina Croft – $6,636 – District 28 (Lost primary 8% – 41%)
• Ken Van Dyke Sr. – $1,450 – District 14 (Lost primary 31% – 69%)

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.