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McCain focuses on raising money in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Republicans who lined up behind home state favorite Tommy Thompson in the early days of the presidential race are now being courted by Arizona Sen. John McCain as he looks to shore up support in the upper Midwest.

Many of those former Thompson backers are expected to open their wallets at McCain’s first major fundraiser in Wisconsin on Thursday in Milwaukee. Tickets range from $1,000 to $10,000.

“Without a doubt, those folks who were backing Tommy, me included, are 100 percent behind Senator McCain,” said Bill Johnson, president of Johnson Timber Corp. in Hayward. “I think you’ll see the Wisconsin dollars definitely go to McCain.”

McCain spokeswoman Crystal Benton said Thompson has done a lot to bring his supporters over to McCain, but she declined to say what those steps were. Thompson did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Benton said McCain was actively seeking support from Thompson’s previous backers. It makes sense for McCain to court Thompson voters, said Ken Mayer, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor.

Reaching out to them doesn’t turn off other groups of voters or preclude McCain from going after more conservative Republicans in Wisconsin, Mayer said.

“I don’t really see a downside to this,” he said.

Republicans will raise money for McCain on Thursday, but he will have a hard time exciting the state’s conservative voters, who disagree with him on campaign finance reform and immigration, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Joe Wineke predicted.

McCain has been focusing on fundraising in other states and hasn’t been able to raise as much in Wisconsin as Thompson, a former three-term governor.

McCain had received almost $444,000 from Wisconsin donors compared with $499,500 for Thompson through April 30, according to reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission.

Wisconsin Republicans aren’t surprised that Thompson outraised McCain in Wisconsin up to now. And, they say, as McCain starts to beat the bushes in Wisconsin in the coming weeks the money will follow.

“John McCain has got the baton from Tommy to go forward in Wisconsin,” state Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus said. “This event is going to raise a few eyebrows as far as how much money it raises.”

McCain is way behind the two Democratic presidential candidates in Wisconsin fundraising. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama raised $1.5 million from Wisconsin donors through the end of April compared to $648,000 for New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It could be that McCain’s Wisconsin supporters are donating their money to the Republican National Committee instead of directly to the senator. The RNC has been raking in the cash, collecting 10 times as much as its Democratic counterpart through April.

Johnson, who also serves as vice chairman of the state Republican Party, donated $2,300 to Thompson last year and said he sent a check to McCain in advance of Thursday’s fundraiser. He declined to say how much he was giving.

It makes sense that Wisconsin voters supported Thompson more than McCain when he was in the race, Johnson said.

“After his campaign ended, there was a little bit of a wait and see campaign,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of put our folks into a little bit of a lull.”

Now those who were supporting Thompson or waiting are going to start giving to McCain, he said. “I haven’t talked to any Tommy backer, Republican moderate or conservative, that is willing to sit this one out,” Johnson said. “We all see what’s at stake with where the country’s at and where we’re headed.”

Thompson’s ill-fated presidential run ended in August, and he endorsed McCain in February.

McCain easily won Wisconsin’s primary on Feb. 19 and has been the party’s presumptive nominee for months. The fundraiser marks his second visit to the state since the primary. He is also holding a town hall meeting in a Milwaukee suburb.