For the last six months, gubernatorial candidates Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former congressman Mark Neumann have been engaged in a close competition in an invisible primary–a race for campaign contributions.
Walker is ahead of Neumann both in terms of funding and the number of donations he has received according to their latest campaign finance reports.
However, in the first gubernatorial race in 28 years without an incumbent, there will likely be a hard-fought internal political battle on the Republican front. According to an April St. Norbert's poll, in a head-to-head matchup between Neumann and Walker, Neumann received support from 23 percent of voters to Walker's 24 percent. Thirty-three percent of voters said they were unsure whom they would vote for.
However, the Walker campaign finance report for the last six months of 2009 boasted more than $2 million cash on hand after expenditures to Neumann's $974,178.
Walker's campaign reported donations from 18,580 contributors. Neumann, who loaned himself more than $1 million to begin the campaign, reported raising $218,506 from individual donors in the last six months of 2009 compared to Walker's $1,545,232 from individual donors.
""Scott Walker's impressive fundraising total shows he has what it takes to win in November and fight the entrenched interests in Madison, just as he has done in Milwaukee County. More remarkable, however is the fact that 75% of Walker's 18,580 contributions were for $50 or less. They came from everyday people in every single Wisconsin county who, in tough times, gave what they could while finding ways to do more with less in their family budgets,"" Jill Bader, Walker's spokesperson, said in an e-mail.
According to the Associated Press, in the last six months of 2009, Walker received a total of $584,000 from 321 donations of at least $1,000, many of which were from business executives.
Neumann's family donated nearly $50,000 to his campaign. His wife donated $9,025.
""It's no surprise that his family supports his race,"" Chip Englander, Neumann's campaign manager, said. ""They are significant supporters.""
Although Walker has more than double the funds of his rival, by the end of 2009 he had spent more than $1.2 million while Neumann paid out $350,803.
""The campaign doesn't spend a lot of money on overhead,"" Englander said. ""It's focused on putting every penny possible into reaching voters, whether it's through the main street program, whether it's through the television ads or the radio ads.""
In attempts to demonstrate the frugal approach he would take as Wisconsin's governor, Walker continues to promote his ""brown bag"" approach to finance, which emphasizes his stance against high taxes and government spending.
However, Walker reported spending nearly $20,000 on fundraising food and beverages in the last six months of 2009, including expenses paid for meetings. The report showed that Walker spent $2,182 at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Madison last July.
""Yes, like all campaigns, we hold fundraisers which often have food. All in all, by your count, we spent about $1 on food and other expenses per contribution. Also keep in mind the fact that Scott can't simply write a huge check to pay for campaign expenses and he doesn't have the time to pack a brown bag lunch for all 18,580 of his contributors,"" Bader said.
According to a report from the nonprofit watchdog group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Political Action Committees and other organizations contributed more than $62,000 to Walker.
In addition to PACs, a recent Supreme Court ruling allows organizations such as corporations and labor unions to allot unlimited funds to advocacy groups. Although law still prohibits them from donating directly to the party or candidate, these groups can use this money to create their own advertisements for or against a candidate.
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, said as a result, total spending in this gubernatorial race is likely to exceed the 2006 record of $35 million.
""It stands to reason that we're probably going to see more outside spending, and if that's the case, we could see a $50 million or more race for governor,"" Heck said.
Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, noted that it is unlikely that corporations will spend significantly more because of potential backlash from customers with different political views. Instead, he said, corporations donate money to ""outside organizations"" that ""operate totally outside of campaign finance laws.""
""They'll give the money to front groups like All Children Matter and Coalition for America's Families,"" McCabe said. ""Those groups will sponsor the advertising.""
He said this process allows these organizations to essentially launder money by removing traces of those corporations and unions supplying the funding.
In a February interview with Neumann he said he hopes corporations and organizations will not take advantage of the Supreme Court decision.
""[I hope] special-interest groups stay out of the state of Wisconsin altogether and let us run our campaign,"" he said.
