"To Understand Scott Walker’s Strength, Look at His Donors"

[applegrove]

To Understand Scott Walker’s Strength, Look at His Donors

by Derek Willis at the NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/12/upshot/to-understand-scott-walkers-strength-look-at-his-donors.html?ref=politics&abt=0002&abg=1

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The best way to see the threat that Scott Walker, the Wisconsin governor, poses to Jeb Bush in the Republican presidential race is to look at Mr. Walker’s donors.

They extend far beyond Wisconsin, in large part because of the 2012 recall election that made Mr. Walker a nationwide conservative hero. Many of Mr. Walker’s biggest donors are deeply conservative, giving him an opportunity to emerge as an alternative to the more moderate Mr. Bush. They also include many small-money donors, a group that many national Republicans have struggled to attract.

Mr. Walker had always attracted like-minded conservative donors, but mostly from Wisconsin. The recall vastly expanded that fund-raising base because it was seen as a chance to beat back a union-led effort. He received some very large contributions, including seven donations of $250,000 each, thanks to Wisconsin’s rules for recall elections.

Mr. Walker’s recall coffers swelled with the help of some familiar Republican donors: Sheldon Adelson, the Nevada casino magnate ($250,000); Richard DeVos, an Amway co-founder and owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team ($250,000); and Bob Perry, the Texas home builder who died in 2013 ($490,000). Mr. Adelson helped sustain a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich’s 2012 campaign, while Foster Friess, a Wyoming investor who donated $114,600, helped bank roll a super PAC backing Rick Santorum’s presidential campaign that year.



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