10/5/11 – Wisconsin lawmakers raised a record six-point-eight million dollars for their election campaigns in the first half of this year. And about two-thirds of that money went to 12 incumbents who were involved in this summer’s Senate recall elections. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said the total amount raised was almost double the previous record for a January-through-June period. The old mark was three-and-a-half million dollars a year ago. Fund-raising by the Senate and Assembly campaign committees for both parties raised a total of one-point-four million dollars. That broke the old record of one-point-one million set last year. Republican Senators Randy Hopper and Dan Kapanke lost their seats in the summer recalls, and former Assembly Democrat Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse ended up winning Kapanke’s post. Barring any more recalls, the next major legislative elections will be in 13 months. The entire 99-member Assembly will be up again, along with 16 of the 33 senators.
