Recently filed campaign finance reports provide the first peek into the legal defense fund formed by Gov. Scott Walker in March to help pay for the legal expenses surrounding the John Doe investigation into Walker’s time as Milwaukee County executive.
A closer look at the finance report for his recall campaign fund shows Walker transferred $60,000 to his legal defense fund during the pre-primary period. The money transferred to the defense fund was part of the $231,439 Walker spent on legal fees over the period, which ended April 23.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Falk released a statement Tuesday addressing Walker’s fundraising and said because Walker is having his campaign contributors pay his legal defense bills in this criminal investigation, he must tell Wisconsin “what he knew, when he knew it, and just how deep his involvement is.”
Walker’s campaign did not speak to the legal defense fund but said the vast amount raised was a result of Walker’s grassroots support in the state.
“We continue to see strong grassroots support for Gov. Walker, his bold reforms and his plans for moving Wisconsin forward,” Walker’s campaign spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said. “Because of the overwhelming support for the governor, we can continue to speak to voters about how the governor plans to move Wisconsin forward.”
A statement from Walker’s campaign said he received 125,926 donations during the period, with 96,292 of those at $50 or less.
The campaign reports filed Monday show Walker reported raising $13 million in the most recent period. Combined with his cash on hand, he has raised $25 million since Jan. 1, 2011.
The amount is five times more than all of the Democratic challengers’ donations combined, with Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk raising a total of $977,059, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett raising $830,000, Secretary of State Doug La Follette gaining $118,087 and Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, with $43,978 during the period.
While the recent campaign finance reports show Walker with a heavy lead over his democratic challengers, the reports also show the majority of donations coming from out of state.
The reports show $8.31 million, or 66 percent, coming from donors living outside Wisconsin and $3.84 million, or 31 percent, coming from in-state residents.
The remaining three percent came from “un-itemized or anonymous contributors,” according to an email from Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Executive Director Mike McCabe.
A statement put out by Common Cause Wisconsin, a non-partisan lobby group, said the large amount of donations was collected during a period when the $10,000 limit on contributions to Walker was suspended because of a state law allowing individuals to make unlimited political contributions to candidates who have been recalled.
The statement also said Walker had great success campaigning across the country, collecting funds from Florida, Texas, Oklahoma and Washington D.C.
University of Wisconsin political science professor Barry Burden said the amount of money raised by Walker’s campaign is staggering.
“It sets a new candidate fundraising record for the state, but is more impressive because of the relatively short period of time in which the recall campaign takes place,” Burden said. “The lack of fundraising limits during the pre-campaign period has clearly helped him generate a large amount of cash. The Democrats have a long way to go to catch him.”
