Madison - It's no wonder this year's budget was rife with millions of dollars in benefits and breaks for powerful special interests as legislators and their leadership-run committees raked in $1.6 million in campaign contributions during the first six months of 2001, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

That's an alarming 83 percent increase over the $875,715 raised by legislators in the first half of 1999 when they crafted the previous state budget.

The bulk of these contributions went to majority party lawmakers - Senate Democrats and Assembly Republicans - who control the votes to shape the budget. Their fund-raising prowess at a time of intense budget deal making by special interests leaves legislative incumbents with war chests already totaling $3.65 million - a daunting head start over possible challengers in the 2002 elections 15 months from now.

Put in perspective, 40 percent of last year's legislative races were uncontested, in part because big money interests and chronic fund raising by incumbents gave them cash balances totaling $3.2 million as of June 30, 2000 - just four months from the election - a staggering $14-to-$1 advantage over challengers.

Senate	Democrats	Republicans
Amount Raised (1/1/01 - 6/30/01)	$722,068	$262,488
Cash On Hand (6/30/01)	$1,048,077	$529,544
Assembly	Democrats	Republicans
Amount Raised (1/1/01 - 6/30/01)	$157,040	$458,647
Cash On Hand (6/30/01)	$750,976	$1,317,470

In addition to contributions flowing to the legislative caucuses that control each house, an analysis of the top individual recipients shows a distinct, targeted pattern of contributions to key legislative decision makers (see additional tables below).

In the Senate, four of the top five fund raisers are majority Democrats. Three of them chair or sit on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, and a fourth is a candidate for governor. The leading fund raiser was Democratic Sen. Brian Burke of Milwaukee, chair of the Joint Finance Committee and a candidate for attorney general, who raised $222,513.

The lone Republican, Sen. Ted Kanavas of Brookfield, won a special election last month to fill the 33rd District Senate seat vacated by Margaret Farrow when she became lieutenant governor. Candidates in special elections and open seats often get much more special interest money than those who run against incumbents because they are seen as a better chance to change the margin - and sometimes the majority - in a house.

Most of the top Assembly fund raisers are majority Republicans. Four of the top five are legislative leaders or present and former Joint Finance members. Leading the pack was Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, who raised $131,350. Jensen, an often-mentioned Republican candidate for governor, frequently raises the most money of any Assembly candidate.

Burke and Jensen also had the largest campaign cash balances as of June 30 in their respective houses. Burke had more than $358,000 and Jensen had more than $344,000. Rounding out the top five in the Senate were two Democrats and two Republicans, three of whom are Joint Finance members and one who is a candidate for lieutenant governor.

Jensen's war chest dwarfed the remaining top five in the Assembly, which included Democratic Minority Leader Spencer Black at $120,203.

A campaign finance report for one lawmaker - Republican Sen. Dave Zien of Eau Claire - was not available at the Elections Board as of 8 a.m. Thursday, August 2. The reports had to be postmarked by July 20.  Zien's campaign never filed a finance report last year for January through June 2000.

In addition to legislators, two of the state's five constitutional officers, and a Democratic candidate for governor raised substantial money and had healthy campaign balances as of June 30. Republican Gov. Scott McCallum, who will likely seek his first four-year term in 2002, raised nearly $1.9 million in the first six months of the year and had a campaign balance of about $2 million.

Attorney General James Doyle, a democratic gubernatorial candidate, raised more than $537,000 and had a cash balance of $1 million as of June 30. Another Democratic gubernatorial contender, Tom Barrett, raised more than $233,384. Barrett's cash balance stands at $942,000 after the Elections Board decided to let him use much of his congressional campaign fund to run for governor.