State Republican Party Donating Staff and Research Services to Supreme Court Candidate James Daley

MADISON, Wis. — Toeing the party line for the state Republicans appears to be paying off for Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate James Daley, based on a review of his recently filed campaign finance reports. According to Daley’s campaign finance reports the Republican Party of Wisconsin donated nearly $7,000 worth of staff and research services to Daley between January 1 and February 2 this year.

“James Daley has shown he’s willing to set aside his own views to toe the Republican Party line as a candidate for the state high court,” said One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross. “While his willingness to flip flop on the issues seems to be paying off handsomely for his political campaign, it raises a huge red flag about his independence as a jurist.”

Prior to snagging GOP funding for staff and research, Daley changed his position on legislative Republicans’ fast track power grab to unseat the high court’s current Chief Justice. In December Daley endorsed the GOP’s ‘Supreme Injustice’ amendment to the state constitution to unseat the current court chief, but subsequently changed his stance to “no opinion” in early January. In comments to the media later in January, Daley was again supporting the GOP authored power grab.

Daley’s campaign finance report on file with the Government Accountability Board disclosed an in-kind contribution of $2,500 on January 7 from the Republican Party of Wisconsin for services from America Rising, LLC, a GOP opposition research group. On January 31 Daley received another in-kind contribution of $4,375 from the state GOP for “wages – campaign staff.”

Ross concluded, “The last thing we need on the state Supreme Court is more partisan politics. These latest revelations about James Daley set a disturbing precedent about his willingness to set aside his beliefs out of partisan political expediency.”