Madison - Legislative candidates kicked off the first six months of the 2000 election year by raking in campaign contributions at a furious, record pace. A Wisconsin Democracy Campaign analysis shows that legislative campaign coffers held a total of $3.6 million as of June 30, which is 60 percent higher than at the same time in the 1998 election year.

Fund raising during the first six months of this year totaled $2 million, which is 55 percent higher than during the first half of the 1998 election year.

Incumbents seeking reelection, who already benefit from name recognition and a legislative track record, have a 14-1 cash advantage over challengers with little more than three months to go before the November election. Legislative incumbents had campaign account balances that totaled $3.2 million as of June 30, compared to challengers whose total cash on hand was $222,523. In the Assembly, incumbents held a 19-1 cash-on-hand advantage over challengers. In the Senate, the incumbent advantage was 9-1.

State Assembly Candidates		State Senate Candidates
Incumbents	$2,105,028	Incumbents	$1,058,512
Challengers	$108,050	Challengers	$114,474
Open Seat Candidates	$110,739	Open Seat Candidates	$58,704

"With challengers facing the prospect of being outspent 14-1, it's no wonder over 40 percent of legislative races are uncontested. And no wonder incumbents almost always win even when they face opposition," WDC executive director Mike McCabe said, noting that the incumbent reelection rate in Wisconsin hovered between 96 percent and 98 percent through the 1990s. "Voters are being robbed of competitive races and real choices."

Incumbents, nearly evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, dominate the roster of those with the largest campaign funds. Republican Speaker Scott Jensen of Brookfield -- a likely candidate for governor who has been raising money across the state -- has the largest war chest among Assembly candidates. Democratic Senator Alice Clausing of Menomonie, who receives much of her money from outside of her northwestern Wisconsin district, had the largest campaign fund balance among Senate candidates.

State Assembly Candidates		State Senate Candidates
Speaker Scott Jensen (R)	$234,168	Alice Clausing (D)	$154,664
Spencer Black (D)	$118,282	Alberta Darling (R)	$149,281
Sheldon Wasserman (D)	$73,386	Kevin Shibilski (D)	$95,292
Minority Leader Shirley Krug (D)	$71,176	Gary Drzewiecki (R)	$93,583
Bonnie Ladwig (R)	$54,275	Majority Leader Chuck Chvala (D)	$92,590

In the fund-raising arena, incumbents raised $6 for every $1 raised by challengers -- $1.5 million versus $250,342 -- during the first six months of 2000. Like the list of top legislative war chests, the bulk of top fund raisers was fairly evenly split between Republican and Democratic candidates.

The figures also indicate that the contest for Clausing's 10th Senate District seat is likely to be an expensive one. Not only does Clausing possess the richest campaign fund, as of June 30, but the figures below show that the top fund raiser in the Senate is her challenger, Republican Sheila Harsdorf.

As in previous elections, most large special interest campaign contributions are going to incumbents who use their huge cash advantage to scare off challengers so that their party can retain or gain control of the Legislature. An analysis of legislative candidates who raised the most money during the first half of 2000 bears that out.

State Assembly Candidates		State Senate Candidates
Speaker Scott Jensen (R)	$161,446	Sheila Harsdorf (R) (Challenger)	$56,438
Antonio Riley (D)	$38,825	Gary George (D)	$54,986
Minority Leader Shirley Krug (D)	$36,327	Gary Drzewiecki (R)	$53,071
Joseph Leibham (R)	$27,767	Alice Clausing (D)	$50,220
Eugene Hahn (R)	$26,272	Mark Meyer (D) (Open Seat)	$49,585

"The runaway fund raising and the huge incumbent advantage are perfect illustrations of why we need campaign finance reform so badly," said McCabe, whose organization joined with 19 other public interest groups on Tuesday to unveil a new campaign finance reform proposal called "Voters First" that would limit fund raising, curb special interest money and level the playing field between incumbents and challengers.

Reports from five candidates, including two incumbents, were not filed with the state Elections Board as of noon on July 26. The reports were due postmarked by July 20. Candidates who fail to file on time face a fine of up to $50 a day under state law. Those incumbents with missing reports are Republican Reps. David Ward of Fort Atkinson and Carol Owens of Oshkosh. The others who are challengers or candidates for open seats are Republicans Roy Hegard of Hortonville, Todd Huebler of Wisconsin Rapids and Mary Kay Poehlman of Waupaca.

Follow the links below for totals raised and ending cash balances for all legislative candidates: