Kelda Roys uses own money, has most cash for final sprint in Dem primary for governor

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Kelda Roys has the most money available of any Democrat running for governor, thanks to her decision to put more than $350,000 of her own money into the race.

Roys had about $668,000 on hand as of June 30 — or about $264,000 more than her closest rival in the eight-way Democratic primary, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday.

None of the Democrats have anything close to the $5.9 million GOP Gov. Scott Walker had on hand as of June 30. In the first half of the year, Walker raised more than twice as much money as all eight Democrats together.

Democratic candidates for Wisconsin governor: (Top row, left to right) Tony Evers, Paul Soglin, Josh Pade and Kathleen Vinehout. (Bottom row, left to right) Kelda Roys, Mike McCabe, Mahlon Mitchell and Matt Flynn.

Four other Democrats have put their own money into the race as they run shoestring campaigns and some major donors wait on the sidelines.

Among the Democrats, Roys is in the best position to fill the airwaves with ads between now and the Aug. 14 primary. None of the Democrats has yet run TV ads.

Roys said last week she would begin running ads "very shortly." She drew national attention in March with an online video that showed her breastfeeding her daughter while talking about her efforts to ban the toxic chemical Bisphenol A from baby bottles when she was in the Assembly.

She raised about $677,000 in the first half of the year, with much of that coming from personal loans. Since getting in the race, she has put almost $354,000 of her own money into her campaign.

Fundraising powerhouse EMILY’s List, which endorsed Roys in June, donated $84,000 just before the reporting period ended.

Roys is an attorney and the former executive director of the Wisconsin arm of abortion rights group NARAL. She made an unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2012, when she lost the Democratic primary to Mark Pocan.

In a Marquette University Law School poll last month, Roys performed poorly among the Democrats in the race — receiving 2% of the support among those surveyed. The next Marquette poll results will be released Wednesday.

According to the filings:

Former state Democratic Party Chairman Matt Flynn had about $403,000 on hand as of the end of June. He has put $140,000 of his own money into the race and raised about $337,000 in the first half of 2018.
Firefighters union president Mahlon Mitchell had about $368,000 available as of June 30 after raising about $524,000 in the first half of the year. Mitchell, whose campaign has been heavily fueled by unions, has been the best fundraiser among the Democrats and has raised more than $834,000 since getting in the race.
State Schools Superintendent Tony Evers had about $307,000 in his campaign account as of the end of June. He raised almost $496,000 in the first half of the year, including $100,000 of his own money.
Liberal activist Mike McCabe had about $68,000 available at the end of June after raising about $156,000 in the first half of the year. He has put $60,000 of his own money into the contest.
State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout of Alma had about $21,000 in her campaign account at the end of the fundraising period after taking in nearly $90,000. She has given her campaign about $15,000 of her own money.
Kenosha attorney Josh Pade was running a $23,000 deficit in his campaign account at the end of June. He raised about $12,000 in the first half of the year.

The vast majority of money raised by Mitchell in the past six months was from unions in Washington, D.C., Wisconsin and 19 other states. Mitchell raised more than $390,000 from unions and about $134,000 from individuals.

Mitchell's campaign finance filing showed him raising more money than what a campaign aide said he had taken in. That's because Mitchell had to give back an $86,000 check from a firefighters union because the union had already made the maximum donation, according to the aide.

Republicans blasted both Roys and Mitchell for each accepting $20,000 from Mark Bakken, a Madison business owner who was accused of firing a female employee who had complained about being sexually harassed on the job.

But Brian Evans, spokesman for Roys, said Republicans have "absolutely no credibility on the issue of sexual harassment" given their support of President Donald Trump, who has said he grabbed women's genitals without their consent.

Madison Mayor Paul Soglin on Tuesday announced he would not be seeking another term as mayor of the capital city — a position he has held on and off since 1973.

The announcement came after Soglin reported raising about $116,000 in the first half of 2018 and had about $58,000 in his campaign account on June 30.

Soglin told reporters one reason prompting his decision to end his tenure as mayor was his run for governor but didn't say whether he was confident he would win the race he is trailing in cash-wise.

"I don’t think anyone can say if they’re confident in answer to a question like that," Soglin said. "I know Scott Walker can’t and he’s been governor for 7.5 years."

Walker is much better situated than the Democrats. He raised about $5.5 million in the first half of the year and has been running TV ads for months.

Since he was re-elected in 2014, Walker has taken in $24.5 million, records show.

Aware of the fundraising imbalance, Democrats have developed a program to hand off campaign cash and a fundraising plan to the winner of the primary to combat expected spending by Walker and his allies.

In last month's Marquette poll, Evers led the Democratic field with 25%. He was followed by Flynn, McCabe and Soglin, who each had 7%.

More than a third of Democrats said they did not know how they would vote.

Walker led all his Democratic opponents in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups.

Reporter Max Bayer contributed to this report.