Change of Plans? State High Court Candidate Rebecca Bradley Coordinates With Right Wing Group to Boost Her Campaign

MADISON, Wis. — Merriam-Webster’s dictionary describes coordination as, “the process of causing things to be the same or to go together well.” One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross questioned how Rebecca Bradley defines the word if the same video footage being used by her campaign and also being used by a right wing group running television ads on her behalf doesn’t violate her pledge to not “coordinate” with outside groups in her high court election bid.

“Rebecca Bradley is on the record unquestionably stating she would not coordinate with outside groups, “commented Ross. “But now we see a blatant, coordinated effort between her campaign and a right wing group spending big money on TV ads for her. It’s yet another example of how, like her political patron Scott Walker, she’s willing to do or say anything to win an election – even if it means not telling the truth.”

When speaking to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in late 2015, Bradley was quoted saying, “I have absolutely no plans to coordinate any campaign activities … ”

But, according to news reports, that is exactly what the historically inexperienced Bradley, appointed three times in three years to judicial slots by Gov. Scott Walker, is doing:

“A conservative group’s ad promoting Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley features footage from Bradley’s campaign. Bradley has previously pledged not to coordinate with outside groups during her campaign … ”

The group in question is the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform and is headed by a pair of Republican party operatives and has ties with Gov. Scott Walker’s political operation. They are already spending $450,000 on television alone over just one week to try to boost Bradley’s electoral efforts with more expected. In 2013, the Wisconsin Club for Growth, overseen by a paid political advisor to Gov. Scott Walker’s campaigns, spent an unprecedented $167,000 on Bradley’s behalf in a local judicial election.

Ross concluded, “Her inexperience makes it hard to determine what we could expect from Rebecca Bradley on the court. But her actions as a candidate, her willingness to blatantly mislead to gain a political advantage, tell us plenty about whether or not she is to be trusted.”