Gov. Tony Evers announced today his campaign raised more than $5 million during the second half of 2021, while top GOP rival Rebecca Kleefisch says she pulled in more than $3.3 million during the last four months of the year.
Neither campaign released full details of their reports, which are due to the state Ethics Commission Jan. 18.
Evers’ also raised $5 million during the first half of 2021. His campaign said his overall haul for the year of $10 million was the best for any incumbent guv in the year before seeking reelection.
Evers also finished the year with $10.5 million in the bank. By comparison, former Gov. Scott Walker had $4.2 million in the bank at the end of 2017 as he lost his reelection bid to Evers. Walker had $4.6 million cash on hand at the end of 2013 as he won a second term the following year.
Kleefisch, meanwhile, said the $3.3 million she raised during the last four months of the year was one of the largest initial fundraising reports of any gubernatorial challenger.
By comparison, Evers raised $312,016 during the second half of 2017, when he was coming off a successful reelection as state superintendent and launched his bid for guv.
Kleefisch didn’t release how much she had in the bank to finish the year. She had $189,948 in her campaign account at the end of June, two months before formally launching her campaign.
