Diny spends big in final push for Wausau mayoral race according to latest campaign finance contribution report

Editor’s Note: February 6 – March 18 is the last reporting period for campaign finance contributions. Contributions are likely up until Election Day. Those reports are not yet finalized.

WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW) - Next week, Wausau voters will head to the polls to cast their ballots for mayor, but before then, they had to share their final campaign spending push before Election Day.

From February 6 – March 18, challenger Doug Diny raised nearly $85,000. Roughly half of it was from individual donors — the other half from political committees.

Comparatively, incumbent Mayor Katie Rosenberg raised more than $19,000, 95% of which came from individual donors, and the other 5% from political committees. She did not contribute any funds to her campaign this round.

Of the funds raised by individuals for Rosenberg’s camp, more than $10,000 came from Wausonians, another $6,700 came from people in other Wisconsin communities, and about $1,500 came from people in other states.

In Diny’s report, the majority of the individual contributions came from Diny himself at $19,300, plus a $5,100 loan to the campaign. Nearly $17,000 came from Wausau contributors, another $5,000 was donated from people in other Wisconsin communities, and $30 was the only individual contribution from another state, Duluth, Minn.

Diny supporters with notable names include 85th Assembly District Rep. Patrick Synder ($100), Fred Prehn ($500) who was on the state’s Natural Resources Board after his term expired, Republican Party of Marathon County Chair Kevin Hermening ($799), Marathon County supervisor Stacy Morache ($250), and former Wausau Mayor Jim Tipple ($50).

Included on Rosenberg’s side are a few Marathon County supervisors: Ann Lemmer ($50), John Robinson ($150), Yee Leng Xiong ($50), Michelle Van Krey ($25), along with former supervisor William Harris ($140). In addition, Wausau alderperson Carl Lukens ($25), Britt Cudaback who is the communications director for Gov. Tony Evers ($100), and Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway ($125).

When looking at political committee contributions, Rosenberg received about $1,000 total this period from the Working Families Party National PAC, Friends of Lisa Subeck, Mandela Barnes for Wisconsin, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

Diny, by contrast, received more than $43,000 from Republican committees including $21,800 from the Republican Party of Marathon County, $1,000 from the Rep. Party of WI - 7th Dis., the Republican Party of WI, State Account provided $20,000, and more than $500 from the Friends of Steve Fraizer.

He spent about $60,000, including more than $46,000 on advertising, including television ads. In addition, he spent about $5,000 on mailers and mailing supplies, and another $7,500 on consulting. He also has more than $22,000 in unpaid bills for his website, digital ads, and digital mail under Majority Strategies LLC, which is a digital and print firm specializing “in influencing the opinion and behavior of voters, constituents, and consumers.”

Rosenberg’s biggest expense during this period was for printing and consulting services through Wild Rose Printing Co. at about $7,700. She spent about $2,800 on ads for print and digital platforms, though the vast majority was for digital ads. She also paid more than $600 for services through the Democratic campaign platform, ActBlue which provides fundraising tools to allow candidates to accept digital contributions.