Walker Raises and Spends More Money than Any Candidate in Wisconsin History
The headlines in Wisconsin are all about the $25 million dollar man -- Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Walker's campaign committee has raised an eye-popping $25 million for the recall, $13 million since January 2012 when close to 1 million signatures were filed with the Wisconsin elections board triggering a recall election. Walker spent a huge sum $5 million on direct mail, rivaling the $4.5 million spent on TV. The direct mail allows him to build a national data base of funders to tap for the recall.
In total, Walker has spent $20,854,000, more money than any candidate in any race in Wisconsin history. "Wisconsin's never seen anything like this kind of money," said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin. "This is all to persuade a relatively tiny universe of undecided voters. It'll be the highest cost per voter spent in the history of the nation in terms of the cost of persuading people."
Walker's opponents have barely scratched the surface. Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has raised $977,000; Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has raised $831,500, Secretary of State Doug LaFollette $118,000, Wisconsin Senator Kathleen Vinehout, $44,000. Arthur Kohl-Riggs, who is running against Walker in the Republican primary, has raised little over $2,000.
Combined, the opposition candidates barely raised $2 million. Despite Walker having spent more than ten times than his opponents have raised, a poll released today from Marquette Law School shows him in a dead heat with Barrett, who entered the race just one month ago.
David Koch Lends a Helping Hand
Perusing Walker's campaign reports, many wondered, where are the Kochs? David Koch recently told the Palm Beach Post that he was going to help Walker get reelected. "We're helping him, as we should. We've gotten pretty good at this over the years," he says. "We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend more." But there are no eye-popping checks from the Koch brothers in the "Friends of Walker" report. Perhaps even the Kochs have caught on that the optics of direct donations do not look so good.
But there is no shortage of indirect aid coming in from the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity 501(c)3 "charitable" arm, which has been working with the right-wing MacIver Institute to produce a multi-million dollar "issue ad" campaign called "It's Working!" The online, television and direct mail campaign touts the benefits of the Walker austerity budget, which sent unemployment in the state off a cliff. Sources say the groups have spent $2.9 million on TV ads to date and untold sums on staff, rallies, direct mail and internet.
The Republican Governors Association PAC, "Right Direction Wisconsin," is also spending heavily in the state, including a $2 million dollar television ad buy, according to sources. It filed a clunky paper report with the state elections board indicating that they spent $4 million in total, but because they are running so-called "issue ads" they are not obliged to report their donors. The RGA benefited from a generous gift of $1 million from David Koch in April 2011, after Walker's collective bargaining bill sparked a mass uprising. The Republican State Leadership Committee is also funded by Koch Industries and is also now registered to play in the Wisconsin recall.
The Democrats also have 3rd-party supporters. "Wisconsin for Falk" is a PAC and a 527 started by state labor unions most effected by Walker's collective bargaining bill, such as AFSCME and WEAC. It has reportedly spent a total of $3 million on television ads and is planning another $1 million ad buy. The Greater Wisconsin Committee, registered as a PAC, an independent expenditure group and a 527, may also be a big spender in this election cycle. It spent $800,000 in December 2011 on television ads critical of Walker's budget cuts and has raised $3 million so far, much of it from the Democratic Governor's Association. It is now up with television ads detailing Walker's jobs record.
Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's Mike McCabe predicted $60 million to $80 million will be spent on the recalls by candidates and third-party groups. The recall primary is May 8, and the general election is scheduled for June 5.
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