Limits to Campaign Contributions
Statewide candidates are limited to accepting up to $20,000 per individual donor, per election cycle. Candidates for State Senator are limited to accepting $2,000 per individual donor, per election cycle. State Assembly Representative candidates are limited to accepting $1,000 per individual donor, per election cycle.
Candidates for Governor are limited to accepting $86,000 per political action committee (PAC), per election cycle. Candidates for Lieutenant Governor are limited to accepting $26,000 per PAC, per election cycle, while candidates for Attorney General are limited to accepting $44,000 per PAC, per election cycle. Candidates for other statewide offices are limited to accepting $18,000 per PAC, per election cycle. Candidates for State Senator are limited to accepting $2,000 per PAC, per election cycle. State Assembly Representative candidates are limited to accepting $1,000 per PAC, per election cycle.
Candidates may accept unlimited contributions from state political party committees per election cycle.
Candidates may make unlimited contributions to their own campaigns.
Candidates may not accept contributions from a super PAC, corporation, or union.
2021 Filing Deadlines
Candidates are required to file detailed reports on their campaign donations and expenditures. Transparency USA provides accurate, searchable data within days of its release by the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
July 15, 2021 – Semiannual Reports
January 18, 2022 – Semiannual Reports
Wisconsin Statewide Office Holders
Wisconsin statewide office holders serve four-year terms and are up for reelection in non-presidential election years.
The Wisconsin Legislature
The Wisconsin legislature meets in January of every odd-numbered year for a two-year session.
Wisconsin Assembly Members serve two-year terms.
Wisconsin State Senators serve four-year terms.
Term Limits
Wisconsin has no limit on the number of terms a legislator or statewide official may serve.
How We Display Wisconsin Campaign Finance Data
Campaign finance is complex, with reporting practices that vary widely from state to state. As a reporting system — and not a balance sheet — contributions and expenditures do not balance the way we’d expect if it were an accounting system. In most cases, this does not mean that the data is incomplete, but rather, that entities are following the unique reporting requirements in Wisconsin.
To help put the numbers in context, we’ve created a state-specific explanation of how we display information reported: