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Politics & Government

Darling Raises Nearly $1 Million to Stave Off Recall

Pasch receives $431,000 from contributors in last three months, and — despite the gap between candidates — Democratic spokeswoman says the race is competitive.

State Sen. Alberta Darling has raised more than $958,000 this year to defend herself in a recall election, more than double what challenger Sandy Pasch has received, new campaign finance reports show.

But a spokeswoman for the state Democratic Party noted the $431,301 raised by Pasch all came in the second quarter of the year and should be compared to the amount raised by Darling in that same period — $536,478.

"It's a competitive race," said spokeswoman Gillian Morris.

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Neither Darling nor her campaign staff returned a reporter's calls for comment Tuesday.

The new figures, which had to be filed with the state Government Accountability Board by midnight Tuesday, also show that Darling started July 1 with about $400,000 in her campaign chest. Pasch has about $215,000 on hand.

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The figures also show that Darling has spent more than Pasch in from April 1 to June 30. The incumbent has spent about $355,000 during that time period, while Pasch has spent about $215,000.

Pasch, a state representative from Whitefish Bay, will face Gladys Huber of Mequon in the July 12 Democratic primary. Huber is a longtime Republican, one of nine Republicans  as a tactic to delay the general recall election.

Because it is a primary, Darling's name will not be on the ballot until Aug. 9.

Huber's financial statements were also not immediately available. She has not been actively campaigning.

Neither voters nor candidates are required to be affiliated with a party to run in that party's primary. That raises the possibility that Republicans could crossover and vote for Huber. If Huber wins the primary, she would face Darling even though she has recently contributed to Darling's campaign.

Darling is one of six Republican and three Democratic state senators being recalled this summer.

The recall elections are critically important to Gov. Scott Walker’s agenda. Currently, the Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature. If none of the Democrats are defeated and three Republicans lose their seats, control of the Senate will be in the hands of the Democrats.

By far, Darling has raised more money than any of the senators facing recall, according to figures filed Tuesday. On a smaller scale, Pasch raised far more money than any of the Democrats challenging Republican incumbents.

The average contribution to Pasch's campaign was a little more than $37. 

Both Pasch and Darling know that money isn’t everything. Each won elections in 2008 despite being outspent by their opponents.

Darling, a Republican who has served in the Senate for 19 years, beat Democrat Sheldon Wasserman by a little more than 1,000 votes. Wasserman outspent Darling $722,300 to $479,100, and each set state records for spending by a legislative candidate, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Pasch, then new to politics, was one of four candidates in the 2008 primary for the 22nd Assembly District seat that Wasserman abandoned to take on Darling. Dan Kohl spent nearly $312,000 — more than double Pasch’s spending. She easily won the primary and the general election.

The conventional wisdom in political campaigns is that the candidate with the most money will win election. That perception is so strong that it has scared off many ambitious public servants, notably the handful of county executive-wannabes who dropped out of this spring’s Milwaukee race when multimillionaire philanthropist Chris Abele threw his Stetson into the ring.

A quirk in the campaign finance law allowed Darling to raise unlimited funds from individual donors until the GAB set the date for the recall election. In a normal election, donors can only give $1,000 to a candidate. As of April 25, 44 contributors have given Darling between $1,250 and $22,500.

The theory behind the practice of allowing unfettered donations is that an elected official cannot anticipate a recall. The limits are placed on fundraising because candidates have four years to raise money for an election, said Reid Magney, a GAB spokesman.

However, the money raised before the GAB set an election date is supposed to be spent only on warding off a recall. Darling could not even mention Pasch in her literature before the election date was set.

Pasch has to abide by the fundraising restrictions limiting individual contributions to $1,000.

The GAB approved the recall petitions May 31. Darling and eight other Republicans facing recall elections have filed a lawsuit challenging the sufficiency of the petitions. That lawsuit is pending before Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess.

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