A record-shattering amount of money has been spent on today’s recall election in Wisconsin, thanks to the Citizens United decision, which paved the way to unlimited corporate and union spending on elections, and to a state law that allowed Republican Scott Walker — but not his opponent Tom Barrett — to accept unlimited donations from wealthy individuals.
Mother Jones
Mother Jones compiled more stats on the money spent in Wisconsin this morning. Here are some highlights:
$63.5 million: The minimum amount spent by both sides in the recall
70 percent: How much more expensive the governor’s recall election is than the state’s second-most expensive race (the 2010 gubernatorial campaign)
$30.5 million: Amount raised by Walker to fight off the recall effort
$3.9 million: Amount raised by his challenger, Tom Barrett, the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee
$10,000: Maximum individual donation Barrett may accept under state law
Unlimited: Maximum individual donation Walker may accept under state law
(View a list of the largest Walker donors. Many are not Wisconsonites.)
Some other impressive numbers, also courtesy of MoJo:
1 in 3: The proportion of people who say they’ve stopped discussing politics with someone because after a disagreement over Walker or the recall elections.
60 to 65 percent: Official projected turnout among voting-age adults in Tuesday’s election. The highest recorded turnout in a Wisconsin midterm gubernatorial election was 52 percent in 1962.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel political guru Craig Gilbert writes that the 60-to-65-percent-turnout forecast is “more or less insane.” But then again, these are not normal times in Wisconsin.
