52% of Evers’ Donations from State Residents
His Republican opponents have much higher percent of Wisconsin campaign donors.
Gov. Tony Evers. Photo by Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the four GOP candidates vying to challenge him in November raised over half of their individual contributions from Wisconsin contributors.
Campaign finance reports covering the first six months of 2022 showed Evers raised $2.72 million, or 52 percent, of his $5.27 million in individual contributions from contributors with Badger State addresses.
After Wisconsin, Evers raised more than $100,000 during the first half of 2022 in five states, including $641,880 in California, $415,481 in New York, $258,317 in Illinois, $173,300 in Massachusetts, and $120,015 in Washington.
For a look at his top out-of-state contributors, who each gave Evers the maximum $20,000 individual contribution allowed by state law, check out the list of his contributors in this story.
GOP candidate Tim Michels raised $7.92 million in individual contributions since he entered the race in April, however, all but $60,140 in individual contributions came from Michels, a multi-millionaire who co-owns the state’s largest construction company. Michels pledged not to seek contributions and to limit individual contributions to $500.
Excluding Michels’s self-contributions, he raised $55,376, or 92 percent, from Wisconsin contributors and $4,764, or 8 percent, from outside Wisconsin.
After Wisconsin, Michels raised $825 in Florida, $621 in California, $560 in Nevada, and $500 each in Nebraska, Iowa, and Connecticut.
GOP candidate Rebecca Kleefisch raised $2.96 million, or 83 percent, of her $3.57 million in total individual contributions from inside Wisconsin. After Wisconsin, Kleefisch raised $157,561 in Florida, $104,474 in Illinois, $45,104 in Minnesota, $39,701 in Maryland, and $38,763 in Arizona.
Like Evers, Kleefisch’s top out-of-state contributors each gave her the maximum $20,000 individual contribution allowed by state law. For a look at those contributors, check out the list of her contributors in this story.
GOP candidate Timothy Ramthun raised $111,348, or 65 percent, of his $171,315 in total individual contributions from Wisconsin contributors. After Wisconsin, Ramthun raised $6,150 in Virginia, $5,585 in Texas, $4,050 in California, and $3,375 in Ohio. Ramthun also raised $8,690 in anonymous contributions with no address that may or may not be from Wisconsin.
Ramthun’s largest out-of-state contributors were:
Alan Blair, an architect from Vienna, VA, $4,400;
Pete Santilli, a talk show host from Cincinnati, OH, $1,700.
GOP candidate Adam John Fischer raised $2,926, or 97 percent, of his $3,009 in total identifiable individual contributions from Wisconsin contributors. In addition, Fischer raised $5,745 in anonymous contributions with no address that may or may not be from Wisconsin.
GOP candidate Kevin Nicholson, who dropped out of the race earlier this month, pulled in $279,975, or 70 percent, of his total individual contributions from Wisconsin. After Wisconsin, Nicholson raised $43,260 from Illinois, $33,481 from Florida, and $6,320 from Arizona.
Nicholson’s top out-of-state contributors gave him the maximum $20,000 individual contribution allowed by state law.
They were:
Richard Uihlein, of Lake Forest, IL, co-founder of Uline;
Richard W. Colburn, of Northbrook, IL, a director of his family-owned Consolidated Electrical Distributors.
Campaign Cash
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