The Capitol Report, produced by WisPolitics.com — a nonpartisan, Madison-based news service that specializes in coverage of government and politics — provides a weekly analysis of issues being debated in Wisconsin state government. It is underwritten by the WNA and produced exclusively for its members. WisPolitics.com President Jeff Mayers is a former editor and reporter for the Associated Press and a former political writer for the Wisconsin State Journal.
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GOP gubernatorial hopeful Tim Michels has pumped another $5 million into his governor campaign over 37 days, bringing his personal commitment to the race to $15.7 million, according to a WisPolitics.com check of the latest campaign finance reports.
Michels, a construction executive, reported $5.4 million in receipts between July 26-Aug. 31. He also spent $4.4 million and had under $1.2 million in the bank.
By comparison, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers reported nearly $4.6 million raised over the 37 days with almost $1.6 million of that coming through transfers from the state Democratic Party.
Evers spent nearly $6 million over the 37 days and finished August with almost $6.2 million cash on hand.
The numbers are just one slice of the money flowing through Wisconsin this election season with much of the money being spent by non-candidate groups.
Of the more than $400,000 that Michels raised from others, almost half came from 10 donors who made the maximum contribution of $20,000 to his campaign after the primary.
That includes: Louis Gentine, the retired CEO of Sargento Foods Inc.; Michele Gentine, Louis Gentine’s wife; Dan Ariens, CEO of the Ariens Co.; David Charles, president of Cash Depot; John Dykema, president of Campbell Wrapper Corp. in De Pere; Lisa Dykeman, vice president; Jeffrey Lebakken, owner of a rent-to-own business in Eau Claire; Terrence Wall, a Middleton developer; Michael Shannon, chairman of KSL Capital Partners in Denver; and Mary Sue Shannon, a Denver retiree.
Michels spent $2.6 million on online ads and $3.1 million on TV, though less than $1.1 million of that was after mid-August.
AdImpact reported last week Michels and his allies were on pace to be outspent on TV 3-to-1 through the Nov. 8 election.
Of the more than $5 million he gave his campaign during the reporting period, more than $3.7 million of it came after he won the Aug. 9 primary over former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.
Evers reported more than $2.9 million from individual donors during the reporting period.
Ten people gave Evers the max donations of $20,000: Abigail Dow, an instructional coach who lives in New York City; Joseph Kaempfer, a real estate agent in Virginia; Stephen Clearman, of Valatie, N.Y., who’s not employed; Eileen Stauss, of Washington state, an attorney; Lynda Resnick, vice chairman, Los Angeles; Andrew Hauptman, chairman, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Andrea Soros, a business exec in Scarsdale,
N.Y.; James Garbett, a consultant in Moline, Ill.; Nathaniel Simons, an investment manager in Berkeley, Calif.; and Marsha Laufer, a Florida retiree.
Evers spent $4.4 million on TV during the period and $266,832 on mail. He also sent $200,000 back to the state party to support its coordinated campaign efforts.
Evers raised $26.1 million between Jan. 1, 2021, and the end of August, with the state party accounting for $8.3 million of that.
Even without the party’s contributions, Evers has significantly outraised what his predecessor pulled in over a similar period. Former Gov. Scott Walker reported $15.6 million in contributions between Jan. 1, 2017, and the end of August 2018. The state GOP gave Walker $95,990 over that period.
On the lieutenant governor side of the ticket, Democrat Sara Rodriguez pulled in more than Republican Roger Roth during the latest period as both won their primaries in early August.
Rodriguez, a freshman state representative from Brookfield, raised $176,849, spent $141,307 and had $124,732 left in the bank. Her haul included $15,000 she gave the campaign, and she overall has $140,000 in outstanding loans.
The Wisconsin Laborers District Council gave her $26,000, accounting for most of the $28,500 in committee contributions she received. It was her only PAC donation recorded after the Aug. 9 primary.
Roth, a state senator from Appleton, raised $84,846, spent $272,856 and had $94,315 in the bank.
Michels has said he won’t take contributions from lobbyists or PACs, but Roth has no similar restriction. He listed $41,070 in committee contributions, with all but $500 of that coming after his primary win.
He received $12,000 from the Tavern Industry PAC and $10,000 from the state account of U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau.
State law allows lieutenant governor and governor candidates on the same ticket to make unlimited transfers between their campaigns. Neither candidate listed a transfer to their running mate.
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