Wisconsin Gov. Evers way ahead of Republican challenger Michels in direct donations, but losing in outside spending

by The Badger Project, The Badger Project
November 7, 2022

The Wisconsin governor has raised nearly $42 million to Michels’ mostly self-funded $25 million. But independent groups have spent more than $13 million trying to get the Republican elected, compared to about $4 million for the Democrat.

By Peter Cameron, THE BADGER PROJECT

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has raised about $42 million in his reelection campaign, while his challenger Republican businessman Tim Michels has raised about $25 million, according to the campaign finance database Follow the Money. But Michels has given his own campaign about $18 million, accounting for more than 70 percent of his direct donations. The Wisconsin Democratic Party has given Evers about $15 million. The Wisconsin Republican Party has given Michels about $3 million.

Outside spending groups have picked up the slack for Michels. They have spent at least $13 million on political messaging, a lot of which is TV and radio advertisements, attacking Evers and supporting the Republican, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks campaign finance data in the state.

That’s three times more than outside groups allied with Evers have spent — about $4 million attacking Michels and supporting the incumbent.

State law limits candidates for governor to accepting a maximum of $20,000 from a single person per election cycle. A political action committee can donate a maximum of $86,000 per election cycle to a gubernatorial candidate.

Independent groups, some of which are called Super PACs, can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money running advertising promoting or trashing candidates.

This change in campaign finance law comes from the Supreme Court decision in the 2010 Citizens United case, which ruled that political groups could raise and spend unlimited amounts to use in political messaging as long as they didn’t coordinate with political campaigns.

The Right Direction Wisconsin Political Action Committee has spent at least $8 million to defeat Evers, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. The group was launched by the Republican Governors Association.

The Monona-based A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund has spent nearly $3 million to elect Evers, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Americans for Prosperity, a part of the Koch Brothers’ network, has spent nearly $4 million to get Michels elected, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.

This article first appeared on The Badger Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.