Gov. Scott Walker has not officially declared a 2016 presidential bid, but he stands near the top of potential candidates in terms of how much money he might bring in.
According to a recently released New York Times Upshot analysis of Federal Election Commission records, Walker has received more funding from the nation’s top 250 Republican donors during his gubernatorial races in Wisconsin than any potential GOP presidential candidate.
Walker received funding from 48 percent of the top 250 donors, while Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz received money from 30 percent and 20 percent of those donors, respectively. As Jeb Bush hasn’t ran a campaign since 2002, he ranks lower in the analysis.
Although Walker has not announced his candidacy for the 2016 presidential election, David Canon, a University of Wisconsin political science professor, said he has established a good base for a potential campaign.
“It’s certainly a strong statement about the level of support among activist Republicans to have a strong Republican donor base,” Canon said. “Having an early start like this, where he has had success in raising money, is definitely a positive sign for the Walker campaign.”
Two former Walker aides set up a super PAC last month to increase funding for supporting the potential campaign. Unlike individual donations — which are limited to $2,700 and are highly regulated — in a super PAC, individuals, corporations and labor unions can give unlimited amounts of money with minimal regulation, UW political science professor Kenneth Mayer said.
The only restriction on super PACs is they cannot accept foreign money from non-citizens, and they’re not permitted to coordinate with the campaign. Otherwise, he said, there “are virtually no limits.”
Although it’s difficult to determine the relative importance of having a super PAC, support from just a handful of big donors could potentially keep a candidate in the race longer than they might be otherwise, Mayer said.
“They can raise effectively unlimited amounts and if there’s a wealthy individual who wants to bank roll Ben Carson or Carly Fiorina’s PAC, they can do it and keep them in the campaign by themselves,” Mayer said. “These could be game changers for a candidate.”
