As I mentioned in another post, Monday night was the deadline for campaigns across Wisconsin to file their campaign finance reports for the period spanning from January to July, and so I’ve been like a kid on Christmas morning.
Given my interest in the race in the 20th Assembly district, where three Republicans are vying to be their party’s candidate against incumbent Democratic Rep. Chris Sinicki, I figured I’d take a look at how much money each of the candidates raised and spent over the past six months.
Rep. Sinicki, the Democratic incumbent, raised just $375 in individual contributions during the reporting period, but she ended the reporting period with a cash balance of $11,094.
Among Sinicki’s Republican challengers, Mike Pierce raised the most in individual contributions, netting $17,975.69 in individual contributions. However, that total is deceiving, as $15,100 of that total came from Pierce’s own pocket in the form of loans and a contribution Pierce made to his own campaign. Pierce raised just $2,875 from individuals not named Mike Pierce, and he ended the reporting period with 9,048.91 cash on hand.
Factoring out Mike Pierce’s loans to his campaign, Cudahy Alderman Justin Moralez, seen by some as the best candidate to oust Rep. Sinicki due to the perception that he’s more moderate than his Republican opponents, actually raised slightly less money from individual contributions than Pierce. Moralez raised $3,407.75 in individual contributions, but $1,050 of that total came in the form of personal loans Moralez made to his own campaign. Moralez ended the reporting period with a cash balance of $635.29.
Molly McGartland, the perennial candidate who ran against Rep. Sinicki in 2010 and 2012, raised just $950 and ended the reporting period with a cash balance of just $455.66.
While there’s certainly more to winning a political campaign than raising money, the fact that the Republicans vying to unseat Rep. Sinicki have had such difficulty raising funds for their campaigns tells me that their chances of defeating her aren’t as good as some conservatives would think.
I think the Republicans imagine great things for themselves because Sinicki’s so hated and vilified/trashed by RW radio, but she seems pretty well liked and connected to the district, and the seat is not one you’d generally consider particularly competitive.
She should be doing more fundraising, but I don’t see this seat being a pickup for the GOP.
Yeah, there’s no chance of Sinicki losing, because she’s not going to allow herself to be outworked.