Once again, the political class continues to blame the billionaire class for buying influence in Wisconsin while simultaneously relying on the generous donations of these megadonors. Conservatives lay the blame for recent election losses squarely at the feet of George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and J.B. Pritzker. Meanwhile, Democrats are unhappy about the GOP’s financial advantage, and they are convinced Diane Hendricks, Elizabeth and Richard Uihlein are “buying the governor” while squawking about billionaires paying their fair share.
Wisconsin’s Act 117, passed by Republicans in 2015, aimed to match the U.S. Supreme Court decisions Citizens United (2010) and McCutcheon (2014), which held that previous caps on donor funds violated the First Amendment. Act 117 wiped out those caps and expanded what an individual can give to a state party or legislative campaign committee—then the party or committee can transfer unlimited amounts to a candidate. Prior to 2015, donors could not give more than $10,000 per year. However, individual gifts to candidates are still capped at $20,000.
Funds have poured into the state after passing Act 117 – a process commonly referred to as the “billionaire loophole.” This law isn’t going away anytime soon, so it begs the question — which billionaires do you prefer buying influence in Wisconsin?
First, let’s look at the billionaires behind the checks Democrats have been cashing.
To kick things off: Reid Hoffman, the Democratic Party’s largest donor, has given more than $15 million since 2019. The LinkedIn co-founder and California venture capitalist was cited multiple times in the Epstein files after staying at three different properties, including Epstein’s island and the New York townhouse. Hoffman continued to meet up with him after Epstein’s 2008 Florida conviction for soliciting prostitution and procuring a minor for prostitution.
Released files put his name on thousands of search hits. Hoffman has said he spent a night on Epstein’s island in 2014 on an MIT fundraising trip and later said: “Note to self: Google before going.”
Emails reported by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal describe a surfer statue gift that was sent “for the island,” and ice cream gifts marked for Epstein or “the girls.” A Hoffman spokesman later said “the girls” meant adult members of Epstein’s staff. Readers can decide if they buy that.
Hoffman gave a weak apology to Axios and admitted to agreeing to appear at fundraising events where Epstein was present, saying, “I helped to repair his reputation and perpetuate injustice. For this, I am deeply regretful.”
Hoffman has yet to be charged for any wrongdoing in his relationship or so-called business ties with Epstein. Wisconsin Democrats continue to take his money anyway – in 2024, when his millions helped bury the state GOP, and again in December 2025, even as the document dumps were dropping in the Epstein case, and now again in 2026.
A political party that spends half its airtime calling everyone else an Epstein “pedophile protector” will never pass an opportunity to accept money from a donor who cleaned up the convicted sex offender’s image.
The majority of Hoffman’s checks on file went to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. The Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee also received $175,000 on December 26, 2025. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel put the party total at $15.4 million as of March 2026. The Associated Press put it at about $15.5 million as of October.
The state party transferred more than $11 million to Susan Crawford in her 2025 Supreme Court race, and $2.73 million to David Crowley for governor in the latest period.
Next is J.B. Pritzker’s money.
Pritzker is an heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune and governor of the failed state of Illinois. He’s also one of the largest Democrat donors in Wisconsin, giving the state party about $9 million as of the latest report filed.
Unlike Hoffman, he is not a participant in Epstein’s crimes. However, his cousin is a different story. In February 2026, Thomas Pritzker stepped down as executive chairman of the family’s Hyatt Hotel company after the files documented years of contact with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell following Epstein’s plea deal.
Tom Pritzker’s own words to the Board were that he exercised “terrible judgment” in maintaining that contact, and there was “no excuse for failing to distance myself sooner.” Tom Pritzker retired while the Illinois governor kept writing checks to the democrats north of the border.
What has Pritzker’s state produced? An unfunded pension liability of about $144 billion, which is funded at 47.8 percent – less than half of what is owed. Credit rating agencies have dropped Illinois multiple times, and it is still the lowest-rated state in the country.
Domestic outmigration has not stopped since he assumed office. Census figures show Illinois losing tens of thousands of residents to other states in a single year, the third worst in the nation. Even the Chicago Bears are leaving town. Meanwhile, international inbound migration stats paper over those numbers. Illinois (Chicagoland in particular) imported countless illegals via its “welcoming city” ordinance and sanctuary state policies, which skews the actual numbers while Illinois residents continue to flee.
Private-sector job growth is trailing the rest of the country, and new business investment has plummeted. Moody’s has cited slow growth and people leaving in droves as a reason the rating stays at the bottom.
And unless you’ve been living under a rock, it’s no secret Chicago has a crime problem – still ranked #1 in the country for total number of homicides 13 years and running.
The Windy City recorded 416 homicides in 2025. That was down from 573 in 2024, the lowest number since 1965, but dropping from record highs – and City Hall would like a medal for it. Set this number against a small town in Wisconsin; this is a body count that could wipe out an entire town in our state. But yes, let’s cue the confetti.
Carjackings, downtown shootings, and the iconic Loop that long-standing retailers keep abandoning are Pritzker’s claim to fame. His answer to voters? More spending, more public-sector growth, and confiscating taxpayer money to pay for it all. For the past decade-plus, I’ve been embarrassed to call Chicagoland my former home.
Apparently Wisconsin democrats have no problem taking money from a donor with this stellar record whose plans include peddling Chicago influence in our state. It worked so well for Chicago, so why not give it a whirl up here?
Next is George Soros to complete this rogues’ gallery.
Soros is not a Wisconsin employer, nor does he have a personal connection to our state. He is a political investor, a global election meddler, and a financial market manipulator. His network has spent tens of millions to move district attorney races toward radical soft-on-crime prosecutors like Josh Kaul. He infamously financed supporters of the Illinois SAFE-T Act resulting in a turn style judicial system that wreaks havoc in Wisconsin communities along the state line (just ask Beloit, Kenosha, and Racine).
George Soros has personally given the Democratic Party of Wisconsin $7.25 million since 2019. The checks include $1 million on February 22, 2023, $1 million on January 10, 2025, $500,000 on February 19, 2025, $500,000 on March 13, 2025, and $750,000 on February 2, 2026.
He also gave Mandela Barnes the $20,000 candidate maximum on December 2, 2025, and Josh Kaul $5,000 in 2022. His son Alexander Soros gave Barnes the same $20,000 maximum.
George Soros’ family members personally gave money to Rebecca Cooke’s campaign in the 3rd Congressional District race against Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
The Soros Open Society Foundation network offers separate contributions. In the 2023 Janet Protasiewicz race, a Free Beacon review put Soros-linked outside spending at least $2.8 million. Democracy PAC, which Soros funds, gave State Victory Action $1.6 million in 2022, and that group gave $1.6 million to the Better Wisconsin Together Political Action Fund.
The Foundation to Promote Open Society gave Wisconsin Voices Inc. $950,000 in two grants in 2020. Open Society Foundations gave Cities Forward $750,000 in 2022, when it was still a New Venture Fund project. Cities Forward later offered Milwaukee a $786,500 election-administration grant.
The return he wants on his investment? Not a distribution center in Pleasant Prairie or a favorable TID/TIF deal to expand his company in Beloit. He wants a radicalized court, a soft-on-crime prosecutor, a weak Congress, and a far-left state legislature that will not get in the way of his open-border crime agenda.
To close it out: Next time democrats say, “pedophile protector,” “tax the rich,” and billionaires must “pay their fair share,” just remember, it is the democrat billionaires who pal around with real pedophile protectors, who contribute nothing to our state and pay zero taxes in Wisconsin (with the exception of Pritzker’s mansion in Lake Geneva – but according to the Dems, this should be a disqualifier since he should be using it to house illegals). Election day is November 3. Register to vote or find out where to vote here: https://myvote.wi.gov/en-us/
Stay Tuned: Next, we’ll take a look at the billionaires behind the checks Republicans have been cashing: Diane Hendricks, Richard (Dick) and Elizabeth (Liz) Uihlein
