David Crowley has spent October warning Wisconsin voters that billionaires are attempting to influence the governor’s race. However, his party’s campaign finance report reveals the sources funding his campaign.
The Democratic Party of Wisconsin reported $15.8 million in receipts during the pre-election period, with five donors writing seven-figure checks, according to filings reported Tuesday by WisPolitics. Four of the five live outside Wisconsin.
The list, per WisPolitics: $5.5 million from LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman of California, $2 million from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, $1.5 million from Oklahoma philanthropist Lynn Schusterman and $1 million from California philanthropist Nina Singh Wanstrath. The fifth, $1 million, came from Milwaukee philanthropist Lynde Uihlein, a longtime Democratic donor.
This amounts to $10 million from out-of-state donors in a single reporting period.
WisPolitics editor JR Ross detailed the donor list in a post on X Tuesday morning.
The funds were distributed beyond party headquarters. Crowley received $9.9 million from the state party over four weeks, including $9.75 million in transfers and $99,876 in in-kind support, according to WisPolitics. This comprised most of the $15.5 million Crowley raised during the period. He also received a $260,000 transfer from running mate Sarah Godlewski.
Crowley spent $14.2 million during the period, allocating $11 million of it on TV, and had $4.1 million in cash on hand as of October 19.
Hoffman continued contributing after the reporting period, giving WisDems an additional $2.5 million, according to WisPolitics. This brings his total contributions to the party to $23.9 million since 2019. The day after this donation, the party transferred $1.9 million to Crowley, as reported by The Heartland Post.
Hoffman has acknowledged spending a night on Jeffrey Epstein’s island in 2014 on an MIT fundraising trip, as The Heartland Post has previously reported. Tiffany called on Democrats in April to refuse party transfers of Hoffman’s money. Crowley’s campaign kept taking them.
Meanwhile, Crowley has consistently promoted his “bought by billionaires” message on X for several weeks.
The Republican side also has a major donor. Diane Hendricks of Beloit contributed $13 million to the state GOP during the period, and Tiffany received $9 million in party transfers plus nearly $3.5 million in in-kind support, according to WisPolitics. Unlike the Democratic donors, Hendricks built ABC Supply in Beloit and resides in Wisconsin. The bulk of the Democrats’ seven-figure contributions came from California, New York, and Oklahoma.
Crowley’s campaign has not addressed how a candidate opposing billionaire influence reconciles that message with significant funding from Hoffman and Bloomberg.
