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Recall Race for Governor Cost $81 Million | Wisconsin Democracy Campaign 7/23/2015 Recall Race for Governor Cost $81 Million | Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Home Contact Us Subscribe Join Now Site Map Search Recall Race for Governor Cost $81 Million Press Release Fifteen recall races in 2011 and 2012 cost $137 million Archives Posted: July 25, 2012 Subscribe to updates Updated: January 31, 2013 Madison – Candidates, special interest groups and political committees spent nearly $81 million in the failed attempt to recall Republican Governor Scott Walker in June – more than double the record $37.4 million spent for a statewide office in the 2010 governor’s race, a Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows. Overall an estimated $137.5 million was spent on the unprecedented 15 recall races for governor, lieutenant governor and state Senate in 2011 and 2012, based on the review of outside electioneering activities, television advertising buys and campaign finance reports filed by the candidates, groups and political committees. Walker and Republican groups and committees outspent all of the Democratic candidates, groups and committees $58.7 million to $21.9 million in the governor’s race where Walker defeated his Democratic challenger Tom Barrett and independent candidate for governor Hariprasad Trivedi who spent $305,204 (Table 1). For all of the recall races in 2011 and 2012, Republican candidates, groups and committees outspent their Democratic counterparts $84.5 million to $52.6 million. Candidates for the 15 offices spent $56.4 million. Republican candidates spent $42.9 million led by Governor Scott Walker who doled out $36.1 million to win. Democratic candidates doled out $13.1 million led by Barrett who spent $6.6 million. Outside special interest groups spent $75.8 million in the 15 recall races, including $39.8 million by groups that backed Republicans and $35.9 million by organizations that supported Democrats (Table 2). Nearly half of the outside group spending – an estimated $36.5 million – was done in the governor’s race alone where groups that backed Walker spent about $22.6 million and groups that backed Barrett and Democrat Kathleen Falk who lost to Barrett in the primary spent nearly $14 million. The state parties, recall committees and two Senate fundraising committees used by legislative leaders to raise and spend money on elections spent $5.3 million, including $3.5 million on behalf of Democrats and $1.8 million on behalf of Republican candidates. The estimated $93.4 million spent in the 2012 recall elections for governor, lieutenant governor and four state Senate seats more than doubled the estimated $44 million spent in the 2011 recall elections for nine state Senate seats. The $36.1 million Walker spent more than tripled the record $11.1 million he sunk into his 2010 general election race. Nearly $22 million or 64 percent of the individual contributions he raised since January 2011 and spent mostly on the recall came from out­of­state banking, manufacturing, construction, real estate and other powerful special interests hailing from Florida, Texas, New York, Missouri, Nevada, Wyoming and New Jersey, among other states. Walker drew massive contributions above the usual $10,000 calendar year limit on individual donations because state law allows recall targets to collect unlimited cash to pay bills that come in before a recall election is approved. A preliminary review of Walker’s contributors since January 2011 found 37 individuals, including 26 from outside Wisconsin, representing construction, manufacturing, finance and other powerful special interests who each gave the governor between $50,000 and $510,000 for a total of $4.74 million (Table 3). In addition to Walker’s spending, most of the money spent by outside smear groups in the 2012 recalls was spent in the governor’s race. Outside group spending was led by the Republican Governors Association which doled out $9.4 million to support Walker through its Right Direction Wisconsin Political Action Committee. The group, which spent an estimated $5 million to help Walker win the 2010 general election, paid for a barrage of television ads that said Barrett’s policies as Milwaukee mayor have left the state’s largest city in economic disarray by increasing unemployment, taxes and government spending. The Republican Governors Association raises much of its cash from large corporations to support GOP candidates for governor around the country through a 527 group named for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service regulations that govern them. During the first six months of 2012 coinciding with the recall efforts against Walker, the association’s 527 outfit raised $29 million, including $792,725 from 19 Wisconsin trade groups, corporations and individuals led by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce which gave the group $437,725. PACs like Right Direction and corporations created to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on independent expenditures to support or oppose candidates must file reports with the state that provide nominal disclosure about their fundraising and spending activities. And the 527 organizations operated by some electioneering groups must regularly file reports with the IRS that provide a glimpse of their unlimited fundraising and spending often used in state http://www.wisdc.org/pr072512.php 1/5 7/23/2015 Recall Race for Governor Cost $81 Million | Wisconsin Democracy Campaign the IRS that provide a glimpse of their unlimited fundraising and spending often used in state and federal elections. But other outside electioneering groups like phony issue ad groups that sponsor broadcast ads and other electioneering activities to smear candidates without directly saying who to vote for or against do not have to disclose any of the unlimited cash they raise and spend. For more detailed information about the groups and to listen to their broadcast ads, please go to the Democracy Campaign website’s Hijacking 2012 Recall feature to check out their profiles, activities and spending. The Greater Wisconsin Committee which uses all four types of outside electioneering groups, spent nearly $6.7 million in the 2012 recall races – much of it on negative television ads to smear Walker’s efforts to boost state employment, the criminal probe involving campaign activity by his aides while the governor was Milwaukee County executive, cuts in state aid to public schools and state­run health care programs and tax breaks for wealthy individuals and corporations. The group was created in 2004 to support mostly Democratic candidates for legislative and statewide offices. Most of its funding came from large labor unions and the Democratic Governors Association which raises its money from labor unions and large corporations to support Democratic candidates for governor around the country. Wisconsin for Falk, a corporation created to make independent expenditures, spent $4.5 million. The group received most of its funding from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the Wisconsin Education Association Council – the state’s largest teachers union. Most of Wisconsin for Falk’s spending supported Democratic candidate Kathleen Falk who lost to Barrett in the May 8 primary to face Walker. Most of its cash paid for broadcast ads that praised Falk and criticized the governor for cutting state aid to public education and restricting public employee collective bargaining rights. Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business organization and a perennial spender of millions on outside electioneering, doled out an estimated $4 million on phony issue ads this year. The bulk of WMC’s spending was for television ads that told listeners Walker’s policies were improving Wisconsin’s economy and claimed unemployment, taxes and spending in Milwaukee skyrocketed while Barrett was mayor. The group also sponsored radio ads in three of the four GOP Senate recall races that commended the Republicans for supporting legislative policies that created jobs and claimed their Democratic rivals backed higher state spending and taxes. We Are Wisconsin Political Fund, another corporation funded by national labor unions like AFSCME, AFL­ CIO and the National Education Association, spent $3.6 million, including about $3 million in the governor’s race and $576,929 in the four state Senate races and the lieutenant governor’s contest. The group’s PAC was the biggest spender – at $10.8 million – in the 2011 recall races involving nine state Senate seats. But, We Are Wisconsin’s corporate arm kept a lower profile in the 2012 recalls, spending most of its money on paid staff for statewide canvassing and get­out­the­vote efforts rather than attack ads. Americans for Prosperity, a secretive issue ad group created and backed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch, the owners of Koch Industries, and a handful of foundations that support conservative causes, spent an estimated $3.7 million on the governor’s race. The group teamed with the Madison­based MacIver Institute for Public Policy – another supporter of conservative causes – to sponsor a series of television ads in late 2011 and early 2012 that urged residents not to sign Walker recall petitions and touted the governor’s economic policies, including his plan to restrict public employee collective bargaining. The Democracy Campaign filed complaints in March against the groups asking the IRS to determine whether their political activities and support of Walker violated their tax­exempt status as charitable organizations. Spending in the four Senate races ranged from about $761,000 to nearly $3 million led by the 21st Senate District recall race where Democratic challenger John Lehman of Racine defeated incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard of Racine. Lehman and outside groups that supported him spent an estimated $1.8 million. Wanggaard and outside groups that supported him spent an estimated $1.1 million. Special interest groups outspent the candidates $2.3 million to $633,887 led by the Greater Wisconsin which spent an estimated $700,000 to attack Wanggaard for his support of Walker’s cuts to public education and health care programs.
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