Walker Says He’s Making Slow But Steady Progress Paying Off $1M Campaign Debt

Gov. Scott Walker says he still has a ways to go on retiring the roughly $1 million debt he incurred during his scrapped presidential bid last.

The governor said Monday that a report expected by the end of the month will show he did raise some money in the fourth quarter of last year.

“But this is going to be a long process,” Walker said. “We’ve talked to other folks who have been in similar situations. It’ll probably take a year or two, but we’re in a position to chip away. We’ve made substantial progress.”

He said the money that was raised recently “overwhelmingly” comes from people who have given $100 or less.

Walker also said the announcement on Monday that he plans to sell his Wauwatosa home is unrelated to his efforts to pay off his campaign debt.

“No, if it was timing in that way, I would have done it in September,” he said.

Walker and his wife Tonette have owned the house in suburban Milwaukee for nine years but have been living at the state’s executive residence in Maple Bluff for the last two or so years.

The governor listed the Wauwatosa house for $338,000. That’s $28,000 above what he paid for it but $22,000 below its assessed value.

Walker also said he won’t use any proceeds for a possible gubernatorial re-election bid. He said he and his spouse just want to move to a smaller home, hopefully still in the Wauwatosa area.