A new trend? Most expensive state Supreme Court race in Wis. history.

Byline: Jack Zemlicka

It was the most expensive state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin history, but ultimately the only numbers which mattered were the final vote tallies. In the general election last week, Washington County Circuit Court Judge Annette K. Ziegler earned more than 473,000 votes or 58 percent, and defeated Madison attorney Linda M. Clifford who received more than 338,000 votes. But how much of an impact did the reported $1.7 million in combined candidate funds or the negative tone of the campaigns have on the outcome? Ultimately it had very little, according to Mordecai Lee, professor of governmental affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Money for Nothing? Lee likened the excessive spending to an arms race where one side reacted to the other and ultimately cancelled each other out. According to the most recent pre-election spending reports posted by the State Elections Board, which charted the candidate's fundraising through March 19, Ziegler had raised more than $931,000 and Clifford had raised roughly $767,000. The two combined to spend more than $1.4 million, which broke the record of $1.3 million spent during the 1999 Supreme Court race. The next campaign continuation report, which will have final campaign spending figures is due by July 20 and will cover spending from March 20 - June 20. Spending aside, Lee said there were two predominant factors which likely propelled Ziegler to victory, her experience as a judge and her prevailing win in the primary. "It's generally a rule of thumb -- a sitting judge who did better in the primary will probably win," said Lee. Ziegler, 43, did invest around $150,000 in pre-primary advertising, three times the amount of Clifford and she received more than twice the votes of Clifford in the primary election. Though the candidates' financial influence may have only gone so far, special interest group spending escalated exponentially during the campaign. Clifford's campaign alleged that Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce pumped $1.45 million into ads supporting Ziegler. The Greater Wisconsin Committee is thought to have spent at least $300,000 on ads favoring Clifford and opposing Ziegler. "I think this type of spending was a determinative factor because it was so lopsided," said Clifford, who claimed outside interest groups spent more than five times the amount of money on advertising for Ziegler. Clifford, 58, cited a national trend of third-party groups investing in elections...