PoliticsPoliticsVideoScott Walker

Club for Growth Wisconsin Spending Big In Milwaukee County Judicial Race

'Walker's People Don't Want Him Embarrassed'
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Senior Editor, Breaking News, HuffPost

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker arrives to speak at the 40th annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Md., Saturday, March 16, 2013. It may seem early, but the diehard activists who attended the three-day conference are already picking favorites in what could be a crowded Republican presidential primary in 2016.(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Club for Growth Wisconsin is spending big in a Milwaukee County judicial race between Rebecca Bradley, an appointee of Gov. Scott Walker (R), and Janet Protasiewicz.

The group has spent $167,000 on the race in support of Bradley, Bruce Vielmetti of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Bradley's campaign has reportedly spent $114,000 on the race as of March 18, while Protasiewicz's campaign spent $117,000.

Bradley has been criticized by Protasiewicz as Walker's "hand-picked" candidate who has been involved with "extreme" conservative groups. In a March 22 release, Protasiewicz's campaign slammed Club for Growth as a "right-wing extreme group."

"It’s no wonder extreme political groups are supporting their political darling Rebecca Bradley after her track record working with organizations who make it harder to vote and giving large donations to help elect Scott Walker," Protasiewicz's campaign manager Marshall Cohen said.

Bradley has said she supports outside groups' involvement in elections, but said she has no control over what those groups do, according to the Journal-Sentinel.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports:

For the second year running, a Walker appointee faces a challenger running on the implication that the incumbent is barely more than a tool in the Republican governor's ideological plan for Wisconsin, an appellate judge in waiting.

The tactic worked in 2012, when administrative law judge Carolina Stark knocked highly regarded Walker appointee Nelson Phillips III from the bench.

Zak Williams, a Democratic political consultant who handled Phillips' race and is not involved in the Branch 45 contest, said partisan politics clearly had an impact on last year's judicial race.

"The same thing is happening again. This time, Walker's people don't want him embarrassed," Williams said.

Club for Growth has been heavily involved in a number of political races in the past, winning half of the 18 races into which it put money during the 2012 elections. Reuters reports the group is prepared to spend millions next year challenging Republicans "who it believes have violated its conservative economic principles."

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Before You Go

Scott Walker Survives
Let's Get It On: Wave Election Sweeps In Conservatives(01 of10)
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In 2010, a surge of Tea Party momentum and backlash against Democrats helped elect conservatives including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who became the state's first Republican governor since 2002. Walker promised to cut taxes and create 250,000 new jobs, but a deeper look into his past also showed a politician who had inflamed tensions with unions before. (credit:AP)
Welcome To The Jungle: Clashes With Unions(02 of10)
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After taking office, Walker announced a number of controversial proposals, including eliminating collective bargaining rights for state employees and reducing public employee benefits. He said the reforms were necessary to prevent thousands of layoffs.Facing anger from unions, Walker threatened to mobilize the state's National Guard in response to any disruptions. The announcement was met with backlash across the state. (credit:AP)
Hush: Wisconsin Bans Collective Bargaining (03 of10)
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The fight over Walker's proposed budget was contentious, with Wisconsin Democratic state senators crossing state lines to Rockford, Ill. in an attempt to stall the vote.In March 2011, Walker signed the budget, significantly curtailing collective bargaining rights for union-affiliated public employees.Thousands of protesters gathered in Madison, and labor leaders and Democrats vowed to fight back. (credit:AP)
We're Not Gonna Take It: Foes Organize(04 of10)
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In the months following his signing of the bill, Walker's opponents organized, announcing their intention to recall the governor and his supporters.They erected a tent city and believed they'd won a surprise victory over a conservative state supreme court judge, before amended voting totals from one county reversed the victory.Walker continued to defend his policy but said he had made mistakes in the political execution. (credit:AP)
Fake Empire: State Senators Face Recall (05 of10)
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Wisconsin Democrats scored a victory in their attempt to unseat Republican state legislators when they defeated six "fake" Democrats running in the party's primaries.Four of the six Republicans targeted for recall held onto their seats in the general election. (credit:AP)
Let's Get It Started: Recall Effort Makes Ballot(06 of10)
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Petitions to recall Walker and his lieutenant governor gathered nearly a million signatures each, far exceeding the 500,000 needed. Election officials ordered a recall election. (credit:AP)
Us Against The World: The Fight Moves Forward(07 of10)
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Democratic candidates faced tough odds from the start. In an April 2012 report, HuffPost's Amanda Terkel noted that only two sitting governors had been recalled in U.S. history. Four Democratic candidates competed in the May primary, headed by former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. (credit:AP)
Better Man: Tom Barrett Wins Primary(08 of10)
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After a tough primary, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett bested three other Democratic candidates in an early May primary. Barrett's victory set up a rematch with Gov. Walker, whom he lost to by about five percentage points in the 2010 race. (credit:AP)
Don't Stand So Close To Me: Walker, Barrett Neck And Neck(09 of10)
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Less than 48 hours before the recall, Public Policy Polling (PPP) released a final poll, showing Walker with a narrow lead over his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. PPP, a firm affiliated with the Democratic Party, compiled a final poll showing Walker at 50 percent support, three percentage points ahead of Barrett's 47 percent. (credit:AP)
The Man Who Can't Be Moved: He Survives(10 of10)
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After a whirlwind day of voting that featured swarmed polling places around the state, media outlets called the race for Walker less than an hour after polls closed. Full election results here. (credit:Getty )
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