Wisconsin Democrats Report Record-Breaking Fundraising Haul
Wisconsin Democrats raised more than $10 million between late March and the end of June, according to campaign finance reports filed Wednesday evening. The party is touting the haul as the most money it has ever raised in a three-month period.
By comparison, the party reported raising about $400,000 in the same period in 2016.
Democrats have set their sights on preventing Wisconsin Republicans from taking a veto-proof majority in the state Legislature this November.
The cash infusion for the party came from Wisconsin and out-of-state donors alike, with donations as small as $1.50 from places like North Carolina, Rhode Island and Texas. Deep-pocketed donors included Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who contributed about $2.5 million. Other sizable donations came from California philanthropist Karla Jurvetson, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Milwaukee philanthropist Lynde Bradley Uihlein, Madison surgeon Elise Lawson, and Madison tech entrepreneur Sage Weil.
Wisconsin Democrats are keenly focused on preventing Republicans from winning the two-thirds majority necessary in the state Assembly and Senate to override vetoes by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The GOP only needs to pick up three more seats in each chamber to do so. All of the Assembly’s 99 seats and about half of the Senate’s 33 seats are on the ballot in November.
Speaking on a Tuesday call with reporters, Evers said he helped with the fundraising, making "a lot of phone calls at night." He said protecting his veto is key to making sure "government works well."
https://www.wpr.org/wisconsin-democrats-report-record-breaking-fundraising-haul