WASHINGTON — The battle for Senate in Wisconsin is one of the most closely watched local elections in the country.
Campaign finance reports show that Republican businessman Eric Hovde raised about a million dollars from donors in the first quarter of the year, and loaned his campaign $8 million. He had $5.3 million in the bank on March 31. Incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin received $5.4 million in donations and had more than $10 million in the bank at the end of March. But the totals only tell part of the story.
“The fact that Baldwin is doing quite a bit better with small donors and with people from Wisconsin giving her money bodes positively for her campaign, and Hovde really has some ground to make up,” said Sarah Bryner, the director of research and strategy at Open Secrets.
The group Open Secrets analyzed each candidates’ individual donors based on zip codes. It found that Baldwin’s top donor zip codes are in Wisconsin, while Hovde’s are in California, where he owns a bank and a home, Texas, Florida, and Illinois, before Wisconsin makes the list. Baldwin does get money from other states too, a sign that this race has been nationalized, with control of the Senate possibly hinging on the outcome.
“All eyes are on these swing swing states,” Bryner said.
There are some caveats to the Open Secrets analysis. It compares the donations Hovde received from the time he entered the race in February to the donations Baldwin has received in the five years since her last election. The analysis also does not include some data on small donations because it hasn’t been collected yet. Still, some early contrasts have emerged.
Baldwin’s campaign says her average contribution is about $52.06, and Hovde’s campaign says his is about $218.20. The comparison does not include the $8 million Hovde loaned to his campaign.
Hovde’s and Baldwin’s campaigns both claimed to have more grassroots support.
"While career politician Sen. Baldwin raked in money from corporate special interests, Eric Hovde has received strong support from thousands of grassroots Wisconsinites,” said Zach Bannon, a spokesman for Hovde.
Baldwin’s campaign had a similar message.
“While Tammy Baldwin has support from grassroots donors across all 72 counties in Wisconsin, Eric Hovde is bankrolled by GOP megadonors and by the millions of dollars he’s made running a bank out in California,” said Arik Wolk, the rapid response director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Open Secrets says we may have a clearer comparison of each candidate’s fundraising when the numbers are reported for the second quarter of the year, a period when both campaigns are fully up and running.