Wisconsin

Wisconsin's hotly-contested race to select its GOP candidate for the U.S. Senate is another battle between out-of-state Super PACs and Tea Party-associated nonprofits spending millions to convince election-weary voters to select their preferred candidate. The influx of outside spending is fueling a race to the right as candidates compete for the label of "true conservative." Here is a rundown of the groups spending big to influence Wisconsin's GOP primary.

Wisconsin state senator and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) member Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) is perpetuating discredited allegations of "voter fraud" to argue that the state's unconstitutional voter ID law would help Mitt Romney win the state in the November elections.

Darlene Wink, former aide to Scott Walker during his term as Milwaukee County Executive and one of several individuals from that office facing charges in a secret "John Doe" investigation into criminal corruption and embezzlement, has had her sentencing hearing postponed for a second time to make sure she follows through on a promise to assist the District Attorney in other related John Doe prosecutions.

This month, a former leader of the Internal Revenue Service filed a complaint that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has violated the terms of its nonprofit status by operating primarily for the private benefit of its corporate members, based on documents and research from the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), which manages PRWatch, ALECexposed, and SourceWatch. The complaint, which also alleges that ALEC misrepresented itself in tax filings, raises additional allegations beyond those in earlier IRS complaints filed by Common Cause.