A QPQ Tracker study · Wisconsin · 2023–2026
Wisconsin: who paid for the data centers and what the state decided
WEC Energy Group’s PAC gave $277,925 in candidate money from 2023 to 2026, a figure that matches the company’s own disclosure to the dollar for the first three years. Alliant Energy’s PAC gave $243,500. The four legislative caucus committees are the largest recipients. Gov. Tony Evers took $60,250.
The appointed Public Service Commission approved We Energies’ Very Large Customer tariff in April 2026 and the Alliant contract for Meta’s Beaver Dam site in May. Port Washington granted a $458M tax increment district in November 2025. On April 7, 2026 its voters passed the first referendum in the country requiring voter approval of future districts over $10M.
Vantage, Oracle, OpenAI and Meta have no Wisconsin committee. Four Republican legislators announced a bill to repeal the data center sales-tax exemption on October 6, 2026.
Who paid
Each company's direct giving from its treasury and employee PAC, as filed in Wisconsin. Executives' personal cheques, super PAC spending and lobbying are different kinds of money and are not added here.
| Payer | Class | Direct giving in Wisconsin | Filings (every state the payer files in) |
|---|---|---|---|
| WEC Energy Group | Utility | $277,925 | Filings and recipients → |
| Alliant Energy | Utility | $243,500 | Filings and recipients → |
Who took it
The Wisconsin officeholders and candidates who received the most from the payer set, and what each did on the state's data center measures: the votes they cast, the bills they authored, the orders they signed. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
1 action on a measure
- advocated forLRB 6903/1: repeal of the data center sales and use tax exemption (proposed)Proposed
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
No recorded vote or action on a tracked measure.
The 12 largest recipients of any kind, committees included
| # | Recipient | Kind | From the payer set |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rep Assembly Campaign Com RACC | PAC or committee | $96,000 |
| 2 | COMMITTEE TO ELECT A REPUBLICAN SENATE | PAC or committee | $61,000 |
| 3 | Tony Evers | person | $57,500 |
| 4 | Assembly Democratic Camp Comm | PAC or committee | $49,000 |
| 5 | State Senate Democratic Committee | PAC or committee | $48,500 |
| 6 | REPUBLICAN PARTY OF WISCONSIN | PAC or committee | $10,000 |
| 7 | Senate Rep Camp Committee | PAC or committee | $6,000 |
| 8 | Melissa Ratcliff | person | $5,250 |
| 9 | Daniel Feyen | person | $4,500 |
| 10 | Tyler August | person | $4,500 |
| 11 | Shae Sortwell | person | $4,500 |
| 12 | Marc Julian Bradley | person | $4,500 |
What they decided
Every Wisconsin bill, regulator's order, executive action and election the study tracks, with its result, its recorded vote and the people and companies on the record for it. Each links to the official document.
Wisconsin4 measures
- BillProposedOct 6, 2026Lindee Rae Brill advocated for; Dean R Kaufert advocated for; Shae Sortwell advocated for; Andre M Jacque advocated for
- Regulator's orderEnactedMay 7, 2026
- Regulator's orderEnactedApr 24, 2026
- BillEnactedApr 7, 2026
How to read this page
The money is corporate-treasury and employee-PAC giving reported in Wisconsin’s own filing system, the Ethics Commission campaign finance system, from January 2023 to the latest filing loaded (329 contributions, January 2023 to August 2026). Transfers between a politician’s own committees, conduit memo lines and gifts from the opposing side are left out. Executives’ personal cheques, super PAC spending, 527 transfers and lobbying are different kinds of money. The report keeps them apart, and the written part of this page names them as such. Nothing on this page adds across kinds.
The votes are the legislature’s own roll calls, loaded for the members the study follows. A yea is a vote for the measure as titled. The measures are the bills, commission orders, executive actions and elections the study identified; each links to its official record.
Every payer total was reconciled against the payer’s own reports where the state publishes them. The checks are in the report’s verification log. Figures on this page were last recomputed on October 31, 2026. Correlation is not proof of causation; the record shows what was paid and what was decided.