Wisconsin GOP spent more than $8M on lawsuits since 2018: report

The Wisconsin GOP has spent more than $8 million since 2018 on lawsuits against the governor and to stop election laws from changing, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau found. 

The nonpartisan organization discovered the GOP has spent $8.5 million on lawsuits against changes in election laws, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and limiting the powers that Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul hold, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau conducted the cost analysis at the request of Democratic Rep. Evan Goyke.

One of the lawsuits launched by Republicans was successful with a judge ruling to end Evers’s stay-at-home order last year during the pandemic, according to the local outlet.

After the report was released, Democratic lawmakers on the finance committee attempted to make a rule where attorneys would have to be voted on by the legislature.

The motion failed, but four Democrats on the Joint Finance Committee, led by Republicans, did say the report “underscores the misplaced priorities of Republicans and their disastrous financial choices that are jeopardizing billions for Wisconsin’s economy.”

Republicans have said the cost of the lawsuits is the Democrats’ fault for engaging in actions Republicans believe they must take to court, the local outlet noted.

Many states with Republican-led legislatures and Democratic governors clashed last year due to Republicans wanting the economy to reopen and Democrats wanting to keep coronavirus restrictions in place. 

Evers recently announced he would be seeking reelection in 2022.