The latest campaign finance reports filed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his main Democratic challenger, Mary Burke, have a little something in them for each campaign to exploit.
The Burke campaign can point to the $5 million Walker raised (PDF) in just six months -- more than half of the individual contributions coming from outside Wisconsin, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Republicans, meanwhile, can continue to paint Burke as a wealthy millionaire who has already put $400,000 into her own campaign -- that's 22% of the total $1.8 million she's raised since announcing her campaign in October, according to records available through the Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System.
But Walker has well-heeled donors of his own, including members of the DeVos family, who donated $90,000 to the cause.
Rich DeVos Sr. founded Amway, the billion-dollar direct sales company, and owns the Orlando Magic NBA team.
The Michigan family has donated hundreds of millions to a myriad of conservative causes and candidates over several decades. (Mother Jones recently called them "The New Kochs" for their role in changing Michigan labor law.)
Walker is continuing to work those angles. According to an Associated Press report, the governor traveled to Dallas this week for a Tuesday fundraiser hosted by conservative billionaire and real estate developer Harlan Crow.
According to the campaign finance reports, both candidates received roughly the same amount of money from political action committees.
Burke collected around $100,000 from such groups as Emily's List, a group that supports pro-choice female Democrats, and the American Federation of Teachers Local 212 of Milwaukee. Walker received $122,765 from PACs connected to Pfizer, Sprint and Honeywell.
While Walker has hauled in a lot of money from out-of-state, he has raised a greater share of his money from individuals donating less than $1,000 compared to Burke.
Of the $8.3 million in individual contributions Walker received in 2013, $4.3 million has come from contributions of $1,000 or more, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. This means that roughly half of his money from individuals has come from donations less than $1,000.
Burke, on the other hand, has received more than 90% of her individual donations from within Wisconsin, but less than a quarter of her $1.8 million pot -- $404,329 -- comes from contributions of less than $1,000, according to an examination of her campaign finance report.
