Politico is reporting that Scott Walker is today headed to New York to raise campaign cash and meet with high-dollar financial industry donors in what pundits are referring to as the “Wall Street primary” for the 2016 presidential nomination.
Walker has long courted Wall Street cash and has a whopping $4.2 million in contributions from the banking and financial industry to show for it. But it’s not just Wall Street; the state of New York as a whole has been good to Walker, who’s bagged more than $1.2 million in campaign contributions from the state. Walker’s most recent campaign finance report lists $2.585 million, more than half the total haul, in contributions from out-of-state donors.
The fundraising trip comes just days after a Republican activist judge attempted to shut down completely a criminal investigation into illegal coordination between Scott Walker’s campaign and outside special interest groups, essentially ruling that such groups could spend unlimited, undisclosed cash in the name of “free speech.” In the sweeping ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Randa also noted that a chief Walker strategist, RJ Johnson, had found a way to circumvent campaign finance laws. Asked about the illegal campaign coordination, Walker replied that Johnson has “done exactly what we’ve asked of him.”
“First it was the ‘Sheldon Adelson’ primary and now its the ‘Wall Street’ primary — seems like the only voters Scott Walker cares about are the out-of-state billionaires who can help advance his political career,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Tuesday. “No wonder a majority of Wisconsinites say Scott Walker doesn’t care about people like them.”
