The Wisconsin State Capitol dome in Madison. PC: Fox 11 Online
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Candidates vying to be the next governor of Wisconsin were required to report their fundraising totals by Thursday, covering transactions between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2025.
But according to one local strategist, the amount of money candidates raise doesn’t necessarily correlate with their success at the polls.
Totals reported by Democrats range from $369,000 for Francesca Hong to $800,000 for David Crowley.
Candidates for Governor fundraising totals July 1 – December 31, 2025:
- (D) David Crowley – $800K
- (D) Sara Rodriguez – $650K
- (D) Joel Brennan – $560K
- (D) Mandela Barnes – $555K
- (D) Missy Hughes – $475K
- (D) Kelda Roys $378K
- (D) Francesca Hong – $369K
- (D) Brett Hulsey – no data found
- (D) Zachary Roper – no activity
Tom Tiffany leads the three Republican candidates with $2 million.
- (R) Tom Tiffany – $2M
- (R) Josh Schoemann – $539K
- (R) Andrew Manske – $365
Republican strategist Mark Graul has worked in the political arena for over 20 years. He says fundraising totals in January don’t always lead to votes in the fall.
“Is what you report in January going to really make a difference as to what happens in August? Probably not a big difference,” Graul said. “If you had a very successful campaign or successful fundraising period here for the year-end report, the January report… It’s going to make you look stronger. Your campaign looks stronger and perhaps attracts some people who are kind of on the fence and not sure which way to way to go. That’s particularly true in the Democratic primary, which has a wide-open field with lots of very strong candidates in it.”
Even though candidates are technically limited to how much money they can receive from individual donations, Graul pointed out there’s a way donors can get around that.
“A lot of their funding flows from big donors through the state parties. With that loophole that exists, that allows somebody to write a million dollar check to the Democratic or Republican state party that immediately can be transferred into a candidate’s campaign,” he said.
Graul noted he believes candidates will ramp up their advertising after the April elections.
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