Evers’ campaign donations included many people who don’t live in Wisconsin.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers raised $10.13 million in campaign donations during the first six months of 2022, but nearly half of it came from the state Democratic Party and 31 big donors, including Hollywood celebrities Steven Spielberg and his wife, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.
“Campaign finance reports filed by the candidates show the Democratic Party made $4.34 million in cash and in-kind contributions to Evers campaign. Thirty-one individuals contributed $20,000 each – the maximum individual contribution to a statewide candidate allowed by law – for a total of $620,000,” the WDC reported.
“Evers’s fundraising haul was about 85 percent higher than the $5.46 million that his predecessor, former GOP Gov. Scott Walker, raised at a comparable time during the first half of the 2018 governor’s race. Walker lost his bid for a third four-year term to Evers in 2018.”
The report notes: “Evers’s campaign finance report also showed he spent $12.95 million in the first half of 2022 and had $7.7 million in his campaign account as of June 30.”
The WDC also compiled a list of Evers’ top donors.
The 31 people who each gave Evers the maximum $20,000 contribution are, according to WDC:
“Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, of Los Angeles, CA. Spielberg is film director. Capshaw is a retired actress and painter.
Jeff and Erica Lawson, of San Francisco, CA. Jeff is co-founder and chief executive officer of Twilio. Erica is a pediatric rheumatologist.
Dirk and Natasha Ziff, of New York City. The billionaire couple inherited part of their fortune. Dirk later founded Ziff Capital Partners. Natasha is a former Forbes Magazine reporter.
Robert and Jennifer Hillis, of Fox Point. Robert is founder and president of Direct Supply Inc.
David and Deidre Metzger, of Cedarburg. David is founder and chief executive officer of Accelerated Analytical Laboratories. Deidre is director of human resources at Accelerated Analytical Laboratories.
Laura Naylor, of Brooklyn, NY, director and producer at By The By Productions.
Benjamin Trumbull, of Sunnyvale, CA, an Apple Inc. engineer.
James Hyde, of Dousman, a Medical College of Wisconsin biophysicist.
Eric Green, of Concord, MA, an attorney who founded Endispute and Resolutions, LLC.
Sophia Lynn, of McLean, VA, executive director of Crow’s Nest Research Center.
Genevieve Hillis, of Milwaukee, director of government relations at Direct Supply Inc.
David Rusenko, of San Francisco, CA, founder and chief executive officer of Weebly and e-commerce general manager of Square.
James Tarantino, of Waukesha, founder of Capri Communities.
Gaye Pigott, of Seattle, WA. Pigott and several extended family members own a nearly $7 billion stake in Paccar, one of the largest truck makers in the world that was founded by the family in 1905.
William Haney, of Wayland, MA, chief executive officer of Wellspring Ventures.
Michelle Lubetzky, of New York City, a doctor who specializes in kidney disease and care.
Steven Euller, of Minneapolis, MN, retired general counsel of Cargill Inc.
Hope Aldrich, of Santa Fe, NM, a retired newspaper publisher who is a member of the famed Rockefeller family.
Monica Horan Rosenthal, of Los Angeles, CA, a television and movie actress.
James Attwood, of Bedford Hills, NY, senior adviser to The Carlyle Group and chairman of Nielsen Holdings PLC.
Britt Ryan, of Madison.
Carla E. Meyer, of Boston, MA, a social worker, lecturer, and former Boston University trustee.
Vincent Ryan, of Boston, MA, founder and chairman of Schooner Capital.
Ronald Conway, of San Francisco, CA, founder of SV Angel.
Donald Sussman, of Fort Lauderdale, FL, founder of Paloma Funds.
Jennifer Soros, of New York City, president of the Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation.”
The WDC noted: “The employer information for large donors was supplied by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign because campaign finance laws were changed in 2015 and no longer require candidates to make that contributor information available to the public. Employer data about contributors to legislative and statewide candidates is important because it shows the public the special interests that are supporting and influencing candidates.”
