Megadonors Power Tiffany Bid As Democrats Jockey In Governor Fundraising Race

Wisconsin State Capitol (Wisconsin Examiner photo)

With 26 days until Wisconsin’s primary election, campaign finance reports filed by U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany shows he raised over $8 million, the bulk of which came from the Republican Party of Wisconsin after major gifts from rightwing donors. Reports from 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.

There are five Democratic candidates running for the spot on the November ballot, and all 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.

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.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, who is navigating the fallout from a financial disaster that led her to fire her former campaign manager, reported having only $34,991 cash on hand and $152,276 in debts.

During a press conference on Monday, Rodriguez said her campaign had about $200,000.

In a statement Thursday, the campaign said Rodriguez had raised $219,307 since July 1 and an additional $143,028 since Monday when she announced the firing.

In a statement Thursday, the campaign said it is “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.

Tiffany reports over $8 million haul for gov race, while Barnes leads Dem field in fundraising was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.