Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign announced Tuesday it has raised more than $4.5 million in recall funding throughout the last five weeks, including millions in contributions from out-of-state donors.
A statement released by spokesperson Ciara Matthews said there were 21,443 total contributions. 16,406 donations were $50 or less, representing 76.5 percent of the overall number of contributions.
The statement said Wisconsinites should note the grassroots aspect of the donations and said the success of Walker’s reforms inspired people to contribute to the campaign.
“Walker’s message of moving Wisconsin forward continues to resonate with voters,” Matthews said in the statement. “These donations will allow us to fight back against this baseless recall and ensure Walker can continue to lay the foundation for a more successful Wisconsin and keep government working on the side of taxpayers.”
The statement also said the Walker campaign finished the quarter with a combined total of more than $2.6 million in cash on hand. The campaign has raised more than $12 million since Jan. 1.
Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said although it is normal for politicians to release statements showing a credible amount of donations coming from small donations throughout the state, it is unusual to see the amount of out-of-state donations over the last year.
“What is unusual about the out-of-state donations is the size of the biggest donations,” McCabe said. “In normal circumstances, no more than $10,000 can be contributed to a campaign, but the recall elections don’t have that limit. In this case, Walker had four donors each donate $250,000, totaling $1 million. He’s getting donations 25 times [more than] the normal law.”
McCabe said normally about 10 percent of donations come from out of state. He said the state saw about a third of the money come from out of state for the summer recall elections. Of the total amount donated to Walker so far, 61 percent came from out of state.
Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said the party reported raising $394,213 over the last five weeks. Individual donors were responsible for $9,785 of the total.
Zielinski said the amount of donations coming from out-of-state donors for Walker’s campaign is unprecedented in Wisconsin’s history.
“If it doesn’t violate the laws of our state, then it certainly violates the values of our state,” Zielinski said. “He’s going to New York, D.C. and Texas getting $25,000 checks. We’ve got nothing like that.”
When asked about how the recent recall elections in the summer and the upcoming elections in November would affect small donations, Zielinski said he was worried about decreasing donations because of the economic condition of the state.
“Given the economic catastrophe, we understand it is going to be hard to give,” Zielinski said. “Plus, the people who need to fight the most are the ones who can afford to give the least.”
