The Supreme Court's conservative majority on Monday sided with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas in his challenge to a provision of federal campaign finance law, in a ruling that a dissenting justice said runs the risk of causing "further disrepute" to American politics.

Outside groups and the three candidates combined to spend a record $10 million in the state Supreme Court election this spring, according to a report released by a government watchdog Thursday.

The state Assembly gave final approval Monday to a pair of Republican-backed bills that would significantly alter the flow of money into Wisconsin political campaigns and dramatically change oversight of elections, campaign finance and ethics laws.

For the second time in 11 months, opponents of U.S. Supreme Court rulings lifting limits on money in political campaigns briefly disrupted proceedings in the courtroom and embarrassed the court by managing to get a camera past court security.

A federal judge has agreed to temporarily put on hold a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's campaign coordination law and how it applies in cases involving political speech.

Prosecutors, a conservative group and two unnamed parties have asked a federal judge for more time to review documents that could be made public in a secret investigation into whether Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and right-leaning organizations violated campaign finance law.

A Republican state senator promised Thursday to update Wisconsin's campaign finance laws in the wake of several court rulings that major portions of the statutes are unworkable.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday declared major portions of Wisconsin's campaign finance law unconstitutional in a decision that experts said would have little immediate effect but would make it clear that the rules must be rewritten.

The state of Wisconsin agreed Thursday to stop enforcing a cap on how much people can donate in total to candidates running for office, ending a federal lawsuit and bringing state law in line with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Republicans call the U.S. Supreme Court's latest ruling on campaign donations a victory for free speech. Democrats say it's more like a win for the wealthy.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Ed Fallone says he supports requiring justices to step aside in cases involving parties who had made political donations to members on the court.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday unanimously dismissed a case challenging campaign rules that require financial disclosure from groups running issue ads for or against candidates.

Constitutional Law First Amendment; campaign finance; matching funds

A federal court in Wisconsin upheld the state’s Impartial Justice Act which provides for public financing of state Supreme Court elections. In his decision on Thursday, District Court Judge William Conley ruled that the law did not infringe on free speech rights, as alleged by the primary plaintiff in the case, Wisconsin Right to Life. Primary defendants in the case ...