Why the Walker/Burke campaign contributions reports may be good news for Dems

Mary Burke’s average monthly in-state contributions match Gov. Walker’s

The latest campaign finance reports are causing a bit of a stir. Upon closer inspection, however, looks can be deceiving.

Gov. Scott Walker walloped his Democratic rival, Mary Burke, by a margin of nearly $8.4 million to $1.8 million in campaign contributions for the year. That should give everyone on the left reason to feel uneasy, but let’s break it down a bit more.

The numbers are for the entirety of 2013. Burke wasn’t a candidate for office until October. So, her $1.8 million was for October, November, and December.

Walker, on the other hand, has been raising campaign funds for all twelve months. That $8.4 million, then, averages out to about $700,000 per month. Burke’s $1.8 million is about $600,000 per month.

It gets even better when you factor in the out-of-state versus in-state money. Gov. Walker received $4.4 million in out-of-state dollars in 2013 -- roughly 54 percent of his total fundraising, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Candidate Burke, on the other hand, received just $180,000 in out-of-state monies, just shy of ten percent.

Taking those amounts out of their totals brings both Walker and Burke to about $4 million and $1.6 million in in-state contributions, respectively. Remember, though, that Burke had contributed $400,000 of her own to her campaign, bringing her down to about $1.2 million from in-state contributors, not counting herself.

That still gives Walker a huge lead, but once again, let’s remember: his totals are over a twelve-month period. Burke’s on the other hand, are over a three-month period.

The outcome? The in-state contribution totals that Walker received in 2013 on average (per month) was approximately $333,333. Mary Burke’s in-state contribution totals for the three months in 2013 she was collecting averaged approximately $400,000. In short, Burke’s in-state monthly contribution average was higher than Walker’s.

There are many problems with our campaign finance system, and those need to be addressed. But this information should cause those on the left to breathe a small sigh of relief, knowing that more in-state contributions -- and thus, more financial support from real Wisconsinites -- went to Mary Burke, on average, versus Scott Walker, per month.