Wisconsin's Scott Walker poised to bury recall foes in money chase
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker raised $4.5 million in a recent five-week period – vastly more than his opponents. The sum might scare off unions from spending big money in a potential recall election.
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At the moment, Walker is benefiting from a loophole in Wisconsin election law that allows candidates to raise unlimited funds between the beginning of petition gathering and the deadline for the election board to authorize a recall election. Petition gathering began in November and the election board might not be ready to authorize a recall until March.
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Under normal rules, donors are limited to $10,000 contributions and nonaffiliated groups are limited to $43,128.
About 45 percent of the $4.5 million Walker collected during the last two reporting periods originated from outside groups giving $250,000 or more.
WisPolitics.com, an online media outlet in Madison, reported that two contributions totaling $500,000 came from Texas billionaire Bob Terry, who was a major financier of Swift Boat Veterans For Truth, the group known for the attack campaign against Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s presidential bid in 2004.
Other major contributors include Sarah Atkins of TAMKO Building Products of Joplin, Mo.; Stanley Herzog, CEO of Herzog Contracting Corp. in St. Joseph, Mo.; H. Ross Perot, son of the presidential candidate; and Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein of Lake Forest, Ill., who are founders of Uline, a shipping supply company. In December, Walker helped Uline break ground on a new 640,000-square-foot facility in Hudson, Wis.
Walker raised $11 million for his inaugural run for governor in 2010, outpacing all his competitors. But about 93 percent of that money originated from in-state donors, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan nonprofit in Helena, Mont., that tracks campaign contributions.
Democratic Party Spokesman Graeme Zielinski told the Wisconsin State Journal Tuesday that his organization realizes it’s “going to be outspent” but suggested that the opposition will have enough votes to recall Walker.
“We’re bracing for that money stream, but money can’t vote. We are one million strong,” Mr. Zielinski said.
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