With a primary more than seven months away, Democratic candidates for the Second Congressional District race are beginning to rake in thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.
Dane County Treasurer Dave Worzala; Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison; Rep. Kelda Roys, D-Madison; and Matt Silverman, a local attorney and Iraq War veteran, are each vying for Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin’s seat. Baldwin is vacating the seat since she is running for U.S. Senate.
While financial reports for the fourth quarter are due to the Federal Election Commission today, most of the candidates announced their total fundraising and the contents of their campaign war chests Tuesday. The quarter ran from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2011.
A statement from the Worzala for Congress Campaign said they raised $223,140 in the fourth quarter, spent $22,824 and have more than $252,196 in cash on hand.
The statement said Worzala’s campaign had more than four times as many contributors this quarter as it did during the previous quarter.
“Congress needs someone who understands how to get finances in order without sacrificing the programs we care about like education, social security or health care,” said Jacob Breymaier, Worzala’s campaign manager, in an email to The Badger Herald. “It is time Wisconsin sends someone to Washington that can fight for the programs that are important to us. Dave Worzala is that candidate.”
In a statement released Friday, Pocan’s campaign said they raised more than $150,000 in the fourth quarter.
According to the statement, 97 percent of Pocan’s donors were individuals and 80 percent of the donations received in the quarter came in increments of $100 or less.
“From the start, this campaign has been driven by the hundreds of grassroots supporters who believe in it,” Pocan said in the statement. “We based this campaign on the idea that we need to do more than just talk about our progressive values; we need to get things done for working people.”
According to a statement, Roys’ campaign raised $76,560 in the fourth quarter.
Currently, the Kelda for Congress campaign has $128,828 on hand and has spent $14,585 during the fourth courter, said Rick Coelho, Roys’ campaign manager.
“Kelda [has been] a strong advocate for progressive values found: Whether it’s her leadership on the mining bill where she submitted an open records request to Gov. Walker, or her historic introduction of the efforts to bring ethics and openness to the courts by removing Justice Gableman,” Coelho said. “Kelda has been at the forefront of doing the right thing no matter what.”
Silverman said his campaign has raised $6,325 and spent $1,973 during the fourth quarter. He currently has $4,262.
Silverman said the biggest issue for him is money in politics because money influences how politicians make decisions. He said it also makes people lose faith in the political process.
He added his campaign is not taking money from any organization and he believes Wisconsinites should focus on getting money out of politics.
Independent candidate Joe Kopsick is also running for Baldwin’s seat. The primary is Aug. 14 and the general election is Nov. 6.
