Bruce Murphy
Back in the News

Evers Is Flush With Cash

More cash on hand than Walker had at this point in last campaign for governor.

By - Jul 13th, 2021 12:04 pm
Tony Evers. File photo from Tony for Wisconsin.

Tony Evers. File photo from Tony for Wisconsin.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is raising a lot of money.

His campaign announced that for the period January through June 2021 the governor raised $5 million from more than 17,000 individual contributors, with contributions from every county in Wisconsin.

The report “shows Evers in a significantly stronger position than past gubernatorial re-election campaigns,” the campaign announced. “In fact, Evers’ cash-on-hand of $7.3 million is three times higher than what Scott Walker reported at this point in 2017 and 2013 ahead of his re-election campaign.”

Cash on hand, however, reflects not just money raised, but how much has been spent. Walker was a prodigious fundraiser, with huge amounts coming from wealthy, out-of-state Republican donors and raised and spent $36.2 million on his losing 2018 reelection campaign, compared to just $10.8 million raised and spent by Evers, as the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) reported.

Of course, Evers is now the incumbent, which makes it far easier to raise money. He raised $3.8 million in 2020, as Urban Milwaukee reported“We aren’t taking anything for granted – that’s why we’re starting early and building the strong foundation we need to re-elect Governor Evers in 2022,” said Tony for Wisconsin Campaign Manager Cassi Fenili.

He still has a long way to go to match Walker’s totals for the 2018 election. And even if he does, Democrats could be outclassed in third party spending. In 2018, nearly $58 million of the more than $93 million on the governor’s race came from third party spending, with $3 million more of it going to support Walker, as the WDC reported.

But that depends on how strong a candidate the GOP runs against Evers. Walker looked like a strong bet to win reelection in 2018. If Republicans aren’t unified in backing a challenger to Evers (and right now no candidate considering the race has lit a fire with the party), outside funding may not be as strong.

2 thoughts on “Back in the News: Evers Is Flush With Cash”

  1. Mingus says:

    I think many voters are tired of the chaos, conspiracies, and controversies that have been the dominant political initiatives of the Republican Party. Tony Evers low key, thoughtful approach while taking care of the people’s business is a nice break from the Republican manufactured hysteria.

  2. Mingus says:

    I think voters are welcoming the low, thoughtful, doing the work of the people approach of Tony Evers. Voters are weary of the chaos, conspiracies and fabricated hysteria that has been the focus of the Republican Party in Madison.

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