U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson pulled in less money during the fourth quarter than three of his Dem rivals, according to their filings with the FEC.
Still, the Oshkosh Republican also had at least $1 million more in the bank than any of his top challengers at the close of the year.
Johnson reported $711,498 in receipts during the final three months of 2021 before he formally launched his reelection bid in early January. He spent $548,464 and had nearly $2.5 million cash on hand to end the year.
As he did in all of 2021, Johnson lagged significantly behind other incumbent senators considered the most vulnerable on this fall’s ballot.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., raised $9.8 million during the fourth quarter and had $22.9 million in the bank, tops among the five incumbents considered most vulnerable. Johnson’s fundraising was closest to U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H. She raised $3.2 million in the fourth quarter and reported $5.3 million in the bank.
Now that Johnson is formally in the race, insiders are watching to see how the two-term incumbent ramps up his fundraising.
Johnson put $9 million of his own money into his first bid for U.S. Senate. But he told WISN’s “UpFront” earlier this year that he doesn’t plan to use personal money in this campaign.
Johnson’s report still lists nearly $219,000 in debts from money he’s previously given his campaign.
Among Dem challengers, Alex Lasry reported the most in receipts during the fourth quarter at $2 million, though that was largely due to a $1.55 million loan to his campaign. Mandela Barnes raised the most from donors among Dem challengers at more than $1.2 million.
Barnes, the lieutenant governor, spent $845,648 during the three-month period and finished the year with nearly $1.1 million in the bank. Since getting into the race last summer, he’s raised $2.4 million.
Lasry, who’s on leave from his job with the Milwaukee Bucks, raised $473,214 from donors during the period. He spent more than he took in during the period with $2.4 million in expenditures and had $1.1 million cash on hand. He’s raised $5.2 million since getting into the race a year ago, including the nearly $2.4 million he’s personally put into the campaign.
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski reported $1.1 million in receipts, including $750,000 she personally loaned the campaign. She raised $360,720 from others. She also spent $586,060 and finished the period with $1.3 million in the bank. She’s now raised nearly $3 million since getting into the race, including more than $1.4 million she’s personally put into the campaign.
And Outagamie County Exec Tom Nelson raised $215,780, spent $149,836 and finished the year with $483,873 in the bank. He’s raised $1.2 million so far.
