Lobbying spending in Wisconsin reached a 10-year high in 2025, with over $47 million spent by interest groups and businesses, according to The Cap Times.
Lobbying efforts include attempts by individuals or businesses to influence legislative or administrative action, as well as time spent with elected officials or agencies and appearances at public hearings or meetings, according to the Wisconsin Legislature.
Communications and Digital Director for Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Molly Carmichael, said that the high spending by Wisconsin lobbyists is not unusual.
“It’s important, but it’s not surprising,” Carmichael said. “Just based on trends we’re seeing of money in politics over the years, you know, we keep seeing record breaking spending in our elections, and again, Wisconsin is always pretty significant just because of the fact that it’s a very purple state.”
Lobbying efforts can be hard to track in reference to political party affiliation because they instead focus on a variety of policies which help the top businesses and interest groups, according to Carmichael.
The top lobbyists in the state have remained consistent in the past few years, with Wisconsin Property Taxpayers Inc, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce and the Wisconsin Realtors Association holding the top three spots, according to state data. Wisconsin Conservation Voters, a nonprofit focused on environmental policy and Wisconsin Hospital Association, rank within the top five in total lobbying time.
“Groups that have a lot of money, have a lot of resources, and are looking to boost profits, have shareholders to answer to, those groups tend to consistently be in the top,” said Carmichael. “I’m sure people will say that certain groups lean certain ways. But it tends to be groups with those sorts of resources that spend the most.”
A key focus of 2025 lobbying spending in the state is on gig worker legislation – with national company DoorDash far outspending other lobbyists in the state.
The California-based food delivery service DoorDash has contributed over $2 million dollars and 250 hours to lobbying efforts in 2025, according to state data.
Large companies like DoorDash, often choose to lobby in certain states after tracking legislation to see if it will help their bottom line, according to Carmichael. In the case of Wisconsin, DoorDash contributes financially in lobbying to better their business outcomes, even if the results may go against best interests of everyday Wisconsinites, according to Carmichael.
The main goal of lobbying efforts by DoorDash in Wisconsin this year is to promote legislation that treats drivers as independent contractors instead of full employees, according to UW Professor of American Politics and Political Methodology Barry Burden.
Earlier this year, Governor Tony Evers vetoed Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill 269, which would have classified app-based gig workers, like those who work for Uber or DoorDash, as independent contractors instead of employees, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. This designation exempts gig workers from receiving worker’s compensation, minimum wage requirements or being eligible for unemployment insurance, according to the bill.
DoorDash reportedly spent almost half of its time and $2 million in lobbying spending supporting the bill to keep gig workers as independent contractors, according to analysis by The Cap Times.
The company’s lobbying efforts to define workers in Wisconsin as independent contractors instead of traditional employees is not abnormal, according to Burden.
DoorDash has similarly lobbied in other states to keep its workers from receiving the benefits associated with being designated as employees, according to analysis by the Wall Street Journal.
In 2020, Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc. and DoorDash Inc. won a pivotal vote in California which exempted them from reclassifying their drivers as employees, according to the Associated Press. The company has supported similar legislation in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Maryland to continue to use “portable benefits programs” for workers instead of allowing them the designation as employees, according to a company press release.
“The legal battle over gig workers largely involves consumer and labor groups on one side versus businesses in the areas of food service, food delivery and commerce more generally,” said Burden. “DoorDash and other companies in the field strongly prefer the freedom of a system that allows them to treat drivers as independent contractors. This tug-of-war between employees and the companies has been happening in states across the country.”
