The National GOP has so much interest in this race they
sent RNC chair Ken Mehlman to the District this past Friday night, where he duly praised far-right Republican state House Speaker John Gard as "a great candidate." The Democrats have 3 candidates in the race, and the primary is not til September 12. Below are some funding facts and analyses.
Wisconsin 08
Geography: | Green Bay |
Primary: | September 12, 2006 |
Incumbent: | Mark Green running for governor |
Challenger: | State House Speaker John Gard (R) |
Challenger: | State Rep. Terri McCormick (R) |
Challenger: | Steven Kagen (D) |
Challenger: | Nancy Nusbaum (D) former Brown County executive |
Challenger: | Jamie Wall (D) |
| Gard (R) | McCormick (R) | Kagen (D) | Nusbaum (D) | Wall (D) |
Total from PACs | $ 364,759 | $ 1,200 | $ 0 | $ 26,499 | $ 15,500 |
Total from Individuals | $ 567,039 | $ 47,725 | $ 99,369 | $ 412,373 | $ 398,711 |
Cash on hand | $ 739,486 | $ 24,651 | $ 1,241,276 | $ 459,385 | $ 396,824 |
Gard's Top 5 PACs
$10,000 | G-P Employees Fund Of Georgia-Pacific Corporation |
$10,000 | Koch Industries Inc Political Action Committee (Kochpac) |
$10,000 | National Beer Wholesalers Association Political Action Committee |
$10,000 | Prosperity Pac |
$5,000 | Every Republican Is Crucial (Ericpac) |
Gard's Top 5 Corporate PACs
$10,000 | G-P Employees Fund Of Georgia-Pacific Corporation |
$10,000 | Koch Industries Inc Political Action Committee (Kochpac) |
$5,000 | Pfizer Inc. Pac |
$5,000 | Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Pac For Responsible Government |
$5,000 | Wellpoint Inc. Wellpac |
McCormick's Top 5 Consumer PACs
Kagen's Top 5 PACs
Kagen's Consumer PACs
Nusbaum's Top 5 PACs
$5,000 | International Brotherhood Of Electrical Workers Committee On Political Education |
$5,000 | Naral Pro-Choice America Pac |
$4,942 | American Federation Of State County & Municipal Employees |
$1,000 | International Brotherhood Of Boilermakers In Sp Bldrs Bkmths Frgrs & Hlprs-Leg Ed..Fund |
$1,000 | Moore For Congress |
Nusbaum's Top Consumer PACs
Wall's Top 5 PACs
$5000 | United Association Political Education Committee |
$3000 | Int'l. Association Of Bridge Structural Ornamental & Reinforcing Iron Workers (Ipal) |
$2500 | Sheet Metal Workers' International Association Political Action League |
$1000 | Intl. Union Of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Pac |
$1000 | McCollum For Congress |
Wall's Top 5 Consumer PACs
Analysis of the Race:
Incumbent Republican Congressman Mark Green is quitting to run for Governor, leaving the seat wide open. State and national Republicans have left Terri McCormick out to dry in favor of John Gard, who has raised more money than any other candidate in the race. Cheney was in the district in mid March fundraising for him.
Among Democratic contenders, the Wisconsin Democratic Party has kept hush but Rep. David Obey, D-Wausau, is supporting Jamie Wall and former Rep. Jay Johnson, the last Democrat to hold the open seat, has endorsed Dr. Steven Kagen. The GOP has held Wisconsin 8 for most of the last 25 years.
Wall and Nusbaum are approximately on the same tier in fundraising.
Positions, positions: Kagen has said, "I stand with (Sen. Russ) Feingold" on the resolution to censure Bush over illegal wiretapping.
All three candidates identify health care as the District's voters' top concern.
Nusbaum is also focusing on the energy crisis.
What's the outlook?
Just on the dollars, it will be Gard v. Kagen. But a late April Mellman Poll showed Nusbaum beating Gard by 5 points. Caveat: Mellman is a Democratic party pollster.
Gard is a far right conservative. Bush won this district by 55%, no more, in 2004. Gard believes that the district voters are very conservative. ". . I do not think people are waiting in Green Bay, Wis., to have [House Democratic Leader] Nancy Pelosi be the Speaker of the House. We don't have the same values and views that people in San Francisco [Pelosi's home city] do," he told http://www.cqpolitics.com/2006/05/the_cqpolitics_interview_john.html CQPolitics.com.
Who will win? Fight to the mat, this one, lawyers, money, voting machines, accusations, smears, you name it. The longer the Democrats hold out before getting behind one candidate the worse it's going to be for them. Look for an update after June 30th for fundraising.
BuyBlue.org will be giving a workshop at Yearly Kos on "How to Vote With Your Wallet," showing how we do our research on corporate campaign contributions and how to follow the money. We hope to see you there.