Wisconsin secretary of state outraised by GOP opponent

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s longtime Democratic secretary of state said Thursday he’s not worried about a Republican opponent outraising him more than 6-to-1, saying he’s not soliciting donations because he doesn’t believe in “big-money spending.”

Wisconsin’s secretary of state has been a sleepy position for decades, devoid of nearly any official responsibilities, but Republicans running this year want to give it election duties currently held by a bipartisan commission. Doug La Follette, the 82-year-old Democratic incumbent since 1983, opposes giving the office oversight of elections.

His highest-profile Republican opponent, state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, said Thursday that she had raised $98,000 over the first half of the year in her bid to knock off La Follette.

La Follette told The Associated Press that he hasn’t solicited donations from anyone because he doesn’t believe in “big-money spending” on campaigns. Still, La Follette said he raised about $15,000, a paltry amount for a statewide race.

La Follette said he’s not worried about Loudenbeck’s fundraising because “that’s how people campaign” and people don’t want a politician running Wisconsin elections.

Sachin Chheda, a campaign consultant for La Follette’s Democratic primary opponent, Alexia Sabor, declined to release her numbers on Thursday.

Other Republican candidates, Jay Schroeder and Justin Schmidtka, did not immediately return messages.

The primary is Aug. 9.