Two Madison women are on Public Citizen's list of top Wisconsin contributors during the presidential election - one for direct giving, one for bundling contributions from others.
The Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group says Mary Ellyn Sensenbrenner, wife of Madison's former Mayor Joe Sensenbrenner, gave nearly $30,000 to Barack Obama's joint fundraising committee. This is a way to skirt election laws that limit individual donations. The money does not go directly to campaigns, but is divided among state and national political parties.
Meanwhile, Mary Lang Sollinger made Public Citizen's list of top "bundlers" - people who raise small contributions, then send them bundled together to candidates. Sollinger raised at least $100,000 for Obama and recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that she's now raising money for his inauguration.
