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Campaigns Spent Record $93M In Wisconsin Gubernatorial Race

Campaign Spending Topped 2014 Gubernatorial Race By $11M

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Campaign signs for Republican candidates
Campaign signs for Republican candidates up for election in November on the side of an empty building in downtown Janesville, Wisconsin on Sunday, Oct. 7, 2018. Andrea Anderson/WPR

A watchdog group says campaign spending reached a state record of $93 million during Wisconsin’s 2018 gubernatorial race between Republican Scott Walker and Democrat Tony Evers.

A review by the group Wisconsin Democracy Campaign found that Walker and outside backers invested roughly $58 million into the former governor’s failed attempt at a third term. The Wisconsin State Journal reported that Evers and outside groups put about $35 million into the campaign that ended in his victory.

Campaign spending last year topped the 2014 gubernatorial race between Walker and Democrat Mary Burke by $11 million.

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Matt Rothschild, the executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said big spending gives campaigns an advantage but doesn’t guarantee a win.

Rothschild expects the 2022 race for governor to top $100 million.