MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s polarizing governor is fighting a recall attempt with money from out-of-state donors, who helped him bring in more than $12 million since last year.

An Associated Press analysis of campaign finance reports Republican Gov. Scott Walker filed Monday showed 61 percent of the $4.1 million he raised during the five-week reporting period came from out of state.

Many of the contributions came from big donors, including $250,000 from conservative Texas financier Bob Perry and a total of $750,000 from three people in Missouri. More than half of Walker’s money came from people who donated $20,000 or more, such as Michael Bidwill, president of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, who gave $25,000.

Walker’s furious fundraising comes as Wisconsin election officials continue to review an estimated 1.9 million signatures collected to recall the governor, lieutenant governor and four Republican state senators.

The recall effort was spurred by anger over Walker’s first year in office, in particular a law he pushed through that effectively ended collective bargaining rights for most public workers.

Walker’s latest efforts take advantage of a state law that allows targets of a recall to ignore the usual $10,000 per-donor cap and raise unlimited amounts until an election is set.

 

Copy the Story Link