Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Crowley is scheduled to fly to California on Monday for a high-dollar fundraiser hosted by former Vice President Kamala Harris, less than a week after his second fundraising trip to Washington, D.C. in eight days.
The itinerary has intensified questions about whether Crowley’s campaign and Wisconsin Democrats are struggling to keep pace with Republican fundraising in the open race for governor.
Harris and actor Sean Penn are hosting the event in Santa Monica, with VIP admission going for $20,000 per person.
Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, won the Aug. 11 Democratic primary in an upset over state Rep. Francesca Hong. Since then his campaign has been plagued by persistent concerns about fundraising and ad spending.
The most recent state campaign finance reports, covering activity through late July and compiled in August filings, show a wide gap between Crowley and Republican rival Tom Tiffany. The Republican nominee reported raising about $15.6 million as of those filings, with more than $10 million coming through the Republican Party of Wisconsin and an affiliated college Republican group. Tiffany ended July with nearly $5 million cash on hand after raising $4.61 million that month alone.
Crowley reported raising about $1.8 million in the same period, and finished July with about $463,000 cash on hand. He raised $776,000 in July after re-entering the race with Gov. Tony Evers’ endorsement, much of it from labor unions.
Independent spending has widened the disparity. Restoration of America PAC, has reported more than $11 million boosting Tiffany and attacking Crowley. A newly registered group, First Amendment LLC, reported $9.3 million in spending opposing Crowley in its first filing.
Republicans have used Crowley’s travel to argue Democrats cannot raise enough inside Wisconsin. Tiffany posted Sunday that Crowley first went to Washington “rubbing elbows with wealthy elites” and is now heading west. His campaign war room asked why Crowley was “flying to California to fundraise with a dictator sympathizer.”
Crowley’s campaign has not publicly detailed expected proceeds from the Harris event or the Washington trips. The next official campaign finance reports covering August and September activity have not yet been filed with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
