UPDATE: This story has been updated to include further details on candidates’ finance reports, additional reaction from campaigns and the amended report from the campaign of Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez.
With 26 days until Wisconsin’s primary election, campaign finance reports filed Wednesday by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany show he raised over $8 million, the bulk of which came from the Republican Party of Wisconsin after major gifts from rightwing donors. Democratic candidates in the primary for governor show former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is raising and spending more money than his rivals.
The primary is scheduled for Aug. 11, and the recent reports cover the period of time from Jan. 1 through June 30.
Tiffany, who is the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, reported raising $8.7 million during the latest period, bringing his total raised over the course of his campaign to more than $10 million.
Tiffany ended the period with nearly $3 million cash-in-hand, having spent $7.4 million during the reporting period.
Over $6.1 million of Tiffany’s contributions came from transfers from the Republican Party of Wisconsin.
The state party received more than $6 million in contributions from megadonors including $4 million from Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, owners of Uline shipping supply company located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, as well as $2.5 million from Diane Hendricks, ABC Supply CEO and a billionaire from Beloit. The contributions helped the party outraise the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, which reported raising $3.17 million, spending $2.87 million and having $1.59 million cash-on-hand.
There are five Democratic candidates running for the spot on the November ballot, and candidates sought to use their campaign reports to highlight their strengths.
Barnes reported the highest amount raised of the period at $841,358. He also spent the most of any Democratic candidate at $1.1 million. He ended the period with $204,207 on hand, nearly the least of any candidate. Barnes’ campaign manager Darby O’Connor said the numbers show that the campaign has the “resources we need to communicate on air to Wisconsin voters, most of whom already know Mandela very well.”
State Rep. Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialist from Madison who has been tapping into national progressive networks, including appearing on progressive streamer Hasan Piker’s California-based program, reported raising $708,883, spending $432,508 and ending the period with $410,563 on hand.
According to the Hong campaign, the average size of a donation to her campaign was $45. The campaign’s only $20,000 contribution, the maximum limit for an individual donating to a candidate for governor, came from a Florida resident named Robert Clancy.
“We are proving that a campaign powered by working people can compete with the millionaire and billionaire class,” Hong said. “Our message of permanent affordability and our vision for building a better Wisconsin are resonating with voters across the political spectrum.”
The campaign has received more than 22,700 contributions which have come from more than 13,000 unique donors, 9,455 of whom are from Wisconsin.
The campaign declared that the Democratic primary race has become a two-person contest between Hong and Barnes, noting that 41% of donors to Democratic candidates in the primary have given to Hong, while 39% gave to Barnes.
In spite of her trip to California to fundraise ahead of the reporting deadline, Hong highlighted the number of Wisconsin residents who contributed to her campaign in a memo. According to Hong’s analysis, about 70% of the contributions to Barnes’ campaign came from donors out of state, whereas out-of-state contributions made up just 24% of her money.
In the most recent fundraising cycle, some of the notable donors who gave Barnes $20,000 contributions included Elizabeth Diane Simons, daughter of the late billionaire hedge fund manager and mathematician James Simons, and Lynda Resnick, co-owner of the Wonderful Company.
Joel Brennan, former head of the Department of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers, raised $665,627, spent $858,382 and reported having $359,583 cash-on-hand. Brennan, similar to Barnes, had money from the previous reporting period that allowed him to spend more money than he raised in this period. In a memo, his campaign argued that the reports showed him at least even with all the other candidates.
“No candidate has a fundraising advantage in this primary race, and Joel has raised similar amounts of money and has similar cash on hand to his rivals,” the memo stated.
State Sen. Kelda Roys reported raising $527,431 during the first half of the year, the least of any candidate. She spent $453,971 and ended the period with $406,492, an amount that leaves her with more cash on hand than most of her rivals.
Roys argued that the primary is now a two-way race between Hong and herself, instead of between Hong and Barnes.
Roys spokesperson Jalen Knuteson said in a statement that the “difference is that Kelda has been up on TV statewide for 4 weeks, and has just made a significant broadcast buy in Milwaukee, while Hong has yet to launch any paid media.”
“Kelda is now well positioned to consolidate support across the state, as Democrats face the very real threat of a Tiffany governorship and a GOP legislature,” Knuteson said.
While Hong hasn’t launched paid media, she has invested in an online media campaign as well as found earned media coverage from national outlets including the New York Times, Politico and NBC.
Rodriguez’s reports show she has only $35,000 with $150,000 in debt
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is navigating the fallout from a financial disaster that led her to fire her former campaign manager, ended her reporting period with a little less than $35,000 in the bank.
Her original report filed at midnight on July 15 listed her as having a $29,089 opening balance, only $34,991 cash on hand and $152,276 in debts. The campaign said in a statement Thursday morning that it was “actively working to ensure our financial records are accurate and complete.”
“The former staff member who was responsible for preparing our campaign finance information provided limited documentation before termination, and we are continuing to gather the full picture. We expect to amend our reports as additional information becomes available,” the campaign said in a statement. The Thursday statement also said that “since July 1, the Rodriguez campaign has raised $219,307.00, and since Monday morning, the Rodriguez campaign has raised $143,028.48.”
Rodriguez’s campaign did submit an amended report Thursday afternoon that dramatically increased the tally of her campaign dollars, showing that she started the reporting period with $603,075 in the bank and ended the period with $643,206. However, the campaign later told Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Jessie Opoien that the report was a mistake, and the campaign did end the period with only $34,991 cash-on-hand after all.
Rodriguez also announced the launch of a new campaign ad Thursday highlighting her plans to hold drug and insurance companies accountable, reverse cuts to Medicaid and create a public option in Wisconsin.
The Barnes campaign criticized Rodriguez for running the ad given her debts. Both her original and amended report listed a little over $152,000 in debts.
“Cool that you’re on TV. Have you paid your debts? You owe taxpayers thousands of dollars for security costs but are making TV buys?” Barnes’ campaign account said on X.
According to Rodriguez’s campaign finance report, about $9,430 of the $152,000 she owes is to the state of Wisconsin for mileage during the first quarter of the year. As lieutenant governor, Rodriguez must travel with the Dignitary Protection Unit, which is part of the state patrol, when she travels. When it is for campaign related expenses, she must reimburse the state.
