Walker raises two-thirds of campaign money from out-of-state

Governor Scott Walker raised two-thirds of his campaign money from outside Wisconsin in his most recent report filed with the state's election agency.  

According to an analysis from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, more than $8 million of the roughly $13 million the governor raised this year came from individual donors living in other states. That's 66 percent of all the governor's individual contributions. It follows a reporting period covering late last year where the governor raised 61-percent of his money from out-of-state donors.

Democracy Campaign Director Mike McCabe says it's a huge break from the past when it raised eyebrows if a candidate received 10-percent of his campaign funds from out-of-state, "Clearly this is seen as a national referendum now and wealthy donors with a national agenda see Wisconsin as a domino. And they want to make sure that that domino falls in a direction that favors them."

Among the Democrats running for governor, former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk received the most out-of-state money. 43-percent of her funding from individuals came from outside Wisconsin. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett received 13-percent of his funding from out of state. Secretary of State Doug La Follette largely self-funded his campaign and state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout raised a total of just $44,000.

Contributions to candidates' campaigns are just one measure of the the campaign money flowing into Wisconsin. Groups like the Republican Governors Association and the Democratic group Greater Wisconsin Committee have also been running TV ads in the governor's race.