Campaign spending in the mayor's race skyrockets
We obtain the latest spending reports - but there's more to the story
As Wausonians approach April 2, many of them are likely being inundated with ads for Katie Rosenberg and Doug Diny. I personally seem to never log on to Facebook or Instagram without seeing a Mayor Katie video or reel, and I often need to watch Diny walking and talking through Wausau’s downtown before I can watch my YouTube videos.
The Wausonian pulled the latest campaign finance reports, which cover the period from Feb. 6 through March 18.
But evidence suggests that this is only a small fraction of the spending that’s gone into this race. Reporting by wispolitics.com suggests that six figures are being spent by outside groups to bolster Rosenberg’s campaign, and ads from outside right-wing think tanks are appearing in people’s mailboxes to attack Rosenberg and support Diny. That included one The Wausonian reported on that blamed Rosenberg for the departure of Wausau Insurance, which hasn’t been a brand in 2009 and was gobbled up much earlier than that.
It’s clear that Democrats and Republicans see the Wausau mayor’s race as a key battleground between a left-leaning incumbent and a right-leaning challenger.
Campaign reports
Katie Rosenberg’s campaign spent $12,904 in the designated period. She started with $11,243 cash on hand and ended with $17,502. Rosenberg’s campaign brought in a total of $19,163 in that period
Top three donors: Paul Moeller of Jericho, NY: $782; Doug Hosler of Wausau: $775; Tanya Bjork of Middleton: $775. (Also of note, the campaign received $750 from the Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin campaign.)
Contributors from Wausau, Wisconsin and out of state: Of the 203 contributions to Rosenberg’s campaign, 88 of them were from outside of Wausau, or 43.3% of the total. And 11 contributions came from other states.
Doug Diny’s campaign spent $59,984 for the same period. Diny started with $2,985 cash on hand and ended with $27,962. Diny’s campaign brought in a total of $84,961 in that period.
Top three donors: Kevin Hermening of Mosinee: $799; Connie Riiser Schuette and Thomas Schuette of Wausau: $799 each; Ruth Schuette of Wausau: $799. (Worth noting: Diny put $19,300 of his own money into the campaign.)
Campaign committee contributors are worth noting as well: Diny received $21,800 from two donations from the Republican Party of Marathon County; $20,000 from the state Republican party; and $1,000 from the state party 7th District.
Contributors from Wausau, Wisconsin and out of state: Of the 178 contributions to Diny’s campaign, 34 were outside of Wausau, or 19%. And only one of them came from out of state.
All indications are that spending after the report has skyrocketed
Based on these spending reports, which were due earlier in the week but cover a period ending on March 18, paint a picture of Rosenberg being outraised and outspent. But that could be out of date already. Wispolitics.com is reporting that the state Democratic party has taken notice of the spending discrepancy and are planning to pour six figures into ad spending.
According to the wispolitics.com report, state Dems plan to spend $191,000 through Tuesday’s election, citing data from AdImpact. Money spent on Diny, on the other hand, totals $92,000.
Maybe that shouldn’t be a surprise - ad spend has been increasing over the years, according to a report from AdImpact (2024’s is a projection):
AdImpact projects the 2023-2024 election cycle will be the most expensive of all time, totaling $10.2B in political expenditures across television, radio, digital, and Connected Television (CTV) platforms
In Wisconsin, political groups are spending $400,000, according to wispolitics.com (citing campaign finance filings), even though there are no “major elections” on the April ballot (meaning they’re generally local races):
A Better Wisconsin Together Political Fund, which spent $20,000 on Wausau Mayor Katie Rosenberg’s reelection campaign. She’s facing Ald. Doug Diny.
And:
The most expensive race for IEs 1 is the Wausau mayor’s race, where A Better Wisconsin Together gave $20,000 and Wisconsin Conservation Voters gave $18,444 to Rosenberg. Diny, received no IE spending in his favor.
Wausau is no stranger to increased campaign spending, including on ads. The Wausau School Board has previously set records for total dollars spent.
But this is more than a simple increase. It’ll be tough to completely account for all the spending until the first post-election campaign filing, but this much is clear: Wausau’s 2024 mayor race could not only set records for dollars spent; it could take Wausau campaign spending to a whole new level.
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I’m not familiar with the acronym IE and the wispolitics.com post didn’t contain a first-reference. But Wisconsin Conservation Voters says it’s an Independent Expenditure Committee, so perhaps it was shorthand for independent expenditure?
More than enough to cover the cost of a professional, competent City Manager.
IMHO, the next Wausau mayor will be the one that went door to door to meet and speak with neighbors; we will find out for sure who won come April 2nd.