Twitter Would Once Again Like to Thank Third party Candidates for Their Contribution Scott Walker
Mike and Mary Sue Shannon each gave the maximum contribution to Gov. Scott Walker's campaign in June 2017.
The same day Walker's entrada reported the $20,000 donations from the Denver couple — both are UW-Madison graduates, and Mike Shannon went on to establish a multibillion dollar individual disinterestedness house — the state GOP registered $125,000 donations from each of them. Those donations wouldn't have been immune under previous Wisconsin campaign finance laws that were get-go struck downward by the courts and so affirmed by a GOP overhaul of the regulations.
The Denver couple wasn't alone in taking reward of the modify.
A WisPolitics.com check of donations found 29 donors since Jan. 1, 2015, who contributed a combined $iii.3 million to the state GOP afterwards maxing out to Walker. All but three of those contributions were at to the lowest degree $10,000, and more than than one-half of the $3.iii 1000000 came from but iii donors: Beloit baron Diane Hendricks and Illinois business couple Dick and Elizabeth Uihlein.
Wisconsin didn't previously cap contributions to state parties. But an quondam restriction limiting donors to an aggregate of $10,000 in contributions to campaigns and committees per twelvemonth acted as a de facto cap. That annual aggregate limit was thrown out past a federal court in September 2014; and when GOP lawmakers overhauled campaign finance laws a little more than a year subsequently, they didn't include any restrictions on the size of donations to political parties.
Matt Rothschild of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which lobbied against the GOP entrada finance bill, said including a cap on donations to political parties of $10,000 would take reflected the intent of the old law. In failing to do so, he said, they fabricated a "mockery" of trying to limit the influence of large donors.
The GOP package also doesn't restrict how much parties or legislative campaigns can transfer to candidates, pregnant the Republican Party could funnel those six-effigy donations to Walker. Since Jan. 1, 2015, the party has given the guv $74,664 with the largest donation $x,000.
"By tearing down the ceiling on contributions to parties, they've opened the door to super-rich individuals having an inordinate influence on who gets elected here, what laws get passed here, what policies become pursued here. That's not democracy," Rothschild said.
Hendricks, who has get a major donor in Wisconsin politics, maxed out to Walker for the cycle in June 2017 and later sent donations of $500,000 to the state GOP later that month and again in April. Before hitting the $twenty,000 mark to Walker, she gave the party $700,000, pushing her overall contributions to the land GOP to $1.7 million since January. i, 2015.
The Uihleins, meanwhile, maxed out to Walker in 2016. Elizabeth Uihlein gave the party $500,000 later striking the limit to Walker, while Dick Uihlein contributed $250,000 after maxing out. He gave the political party another $200,000 before writing the $twenty,000 check to Walker, pushing the couple'due south total contributions to the party to $950,000.
Associates Speaker Robin Vos, who spearheaded the rewrite of campaign finance laws, said he didn't consider a cap on contributions to political parties in co-authoring the bill. The Rochester Republican contended the sometime organization weakened parties, because it encouraged some donors to turn to third-party groups instead.
Those third-political party groups don't disclose their donors, while political parties must. He argued the new organization strengthens political parties while adding transparency.
"Why wouldn't nosotros want more people to give to a political party, which is disclosable, as opposed to a shadowy, union-funded third-political party group that just does assault ads?" Vos said.
Walker'south fundraising clip has slowed compared to his 2014 campaign as he went on to win a second term over Dem baron Mary Shush. But in announcing his fundraising totals this twelvemonth, the Walker campaign has stressed the combined resources of the guv, the land GOP and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. For example, the entrada'south July declaration pointed out the three had more than than $8.6 million in the banking company to finish June, compared to $8.4 million at the same betoken in 2014.
Still, that was largely due to the country GOP's fundraising going from $603,886 over the first half dozen months of 2014 to $2.5 million for the aforementioned period this yr.
Prompted by the entrada'southward focus on their combined fundraising, WisPolitics.com checked donors who had contributed to all 3. Get-go, WisPolitics.com asked the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign to compile a listing of donors who had given Walker the maximum of $20,000 for the cycle. It and so compared that list to a country database to expect for donations to the land GOP and Kleefisch.
Altogether, donors who take maxed out to Walker accept given the state GOP and Kleefisch nearly $5.3 1000000 since Jan. ane, 2015.
The donations to Kleefisch included $176,900 from 26 donors after they'd maxed out to Walker; one had $20,000 donations to both reported on the aforementioned day.
The search likewise showed the GOP has built a meaning edge over its Dem counterpart via donations of $x,000 or more. Since Jan. 1, 2015, the Republican Party has reported 215 such contributions totaling $eight.8 million. The Dem Party, meanwhile, pulled in $5.9 million through 231 such donations of $10,000 or more.
Altogether, the Dem Party has raised $eight.9 million since Jan. 1, 2015, compared to $11.nine million hauled in by the land GOP.
Some of the biggest donors to the state GOP, Walker and Kleefisch included:
*Jennifer Pritzker, of TAWANI Enterprises in Chicago; she maxed out to Walker in June 2017 before giving the state GOP $255,500 through donations in October 2017 and August.
*Ted Kellner, of Fiduciary Management in Mequon; he maxed out to Walker in May 2016 before giving $250,000 to the state political party between donations in 2017 and 2018. He besides gave $500 to Kleefisch before maxing out to Walker.
*Thomas Smith, of Prescott Full general Partners in Florida; he maxed out to Walker on Dec. 28, 2017. That same day, the state GOP registered a donation of $65,000 from him and received another $100,000 in March 2018.
*Donald Zeitlow, of Kwik Trip in La Crosse; he maxed out to Walker in June 2017. He gave $100,000 to the party after that and another $i,000 before hitting $20,000 to the guv. He as well donated $4,700 to Kleefisch before maxing out to Walker. The upkeep Walker introduced in early on 2017 included a provision to no longer apply the state sales taxation to pizzas the company makes at a Wisconsin factory and ships to convenience stores. Backers said that change would bring parity to frozen pizza sales for the company since state constabulary didn't require it to collect the sales tax on those produced by other companies and sold at its convenience stores. In addition to approving the pizza provision, the upkeep lawmakers finally approved in September that twelvemonth added a new exemption to cover yogurt the visitor produces and retails in the same way.
The state GOP did non address a question from WisPolitics.com on whether information technology solicits donations from those who take maxed out to Walker, instead saying it is "proud of the piece of work nosotros exercise in supporting the governor's efforts to keep moving Wisconsin forward."
Source: https://www.wispolitics.com/2018/after-maxing-out-to-walker-donors-give-state-gop-3-3-million/
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