A conservative billionaire from Illinois with a history of funding candidates and groups seeking to overturn the 2020 presidential election spent $450,000 on ads supporting Republican Attorney General Jeff Landry in the Louisiana gubernatorial race, state campaign records show.
Richard “Dick” Uihlein is the financial backer of Iowa-based Americas PAC, which paid Kansas-based advertising firm VCreek $450,000 on Sept. 18 to produce and distribute media content supporting Landry, according to the political action committee campaign finance report.
Landry is one of six major candidates and among four Republicans running in Saturday's primary for governor.
“We believe Jeff Landry is the best person to be governor,” U.S. Treasurer Tom Donelson said in a written statement to the Illuminator. Landry is the strongest candidate for “energy independence” and will keep Louisiana as a leading energy producer, he said.
Uihlein and his wife, Liz, owner of Wisconsin-based box and packaging company Uline and are some of the largest donors to conservative causes and candidates in the country.
Since 2016, the couple has spent $250 million on federal candidates and political groups. according to OpenSecrets, a nonprofit that monitors political finance. Dick Uihlein alone gave $82 million to the 2022 election, making him the second largest single political donor of any kind behind Democrat George Soros during this cycle.
Heir to the Schlitz Brewing Co. fortune, Dick Uihlein has a reputation for supporting disruptive, controversial Republicans, including those challenging more GOP candidates.
The Midwest mogul has financially supported several groups promoting disproven theories of voter fraudincluding organizers of the “Stop the Steal” rally that took place in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, right before a violent attack on the US Capitol.
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Uihlein also funded the Voter Reference Foundation, which published millions of voters' names, dates of birth, addresses and voting histories for public consumption, ProPublica reported.
In other Deep South states, Uihlein has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to political zealots such as Mississippi state Sen. Chris McDaniel, who sought to overturn a 2014 US Senate election after losing the race to incumbent Republican Tad Cochran.
He also donated to a super PAC supporting US Senate candidate Roy Moore of Alabama. even after complaints appear that Moore was sexually inappropriate with girls as young as 14;
Some social issues have also led to contributions from the couple. Dick Uihlein has pushed back on gay and transgender rights and contributes heavily to candidates and groups opposed to the transgender community. Liz Uihlein in public opposes the legalization of marijuana.
The Uihleins' conservative positions are reflected in their corporate culture. ProPublica reported Women working at Uline can wear trousers only on Fridays or as part of a trousers. Hose and stockings are also required for women outside of the warmer months, and corduroy is prohibited for all workers.
The Landry campaign, which is legally barred from coordinating with America PAC, declined to comment on the Uihleins' endorsement this week. The Uihleins could not be reached through messages left at their company.
