Jason Stein

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison — In clearing more than $1 million in campaign debt over the past year, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got the majority of the money by selling his donor list to other candidates.

The governor racked up the debt before he dropped out of the Republican presidential primary in September 2015. He announced last week that he had paid off or otherwise resolved that debt but didn't give details on how.

In 2016, Walker brought in more than $823,000 by selling his donor list to other GOP candidates such as U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida; Ohio Gov. John Kasich; and Ben Carson, the nominee to serve as U.S. Housing and Urban Development secretary, Federal Elections Commission records show. His massive list of contributors was marketed aggressively for him by Granite Lists of Dublin, N.H.

The firm trumpeted the massive Walker list on its website as a "great test for conservative candidates, organizations, and anti-union causes" — a reference to the governor's signature law repealing most collective bargaining for most public employees in Wisconsin.

"One of the hottest donor lists to hit the market in years, the Walker for President list is made up of current Republican donors who are not content to sit on the sidelines. They are committed, generous, and sick and tired of the status quo. Actively engaged, they are motivated by the Republican principles of limited government and reform. This highly coveted list is as current as it gets," the website says.

In October alone, Walker pulled in more than $220,000 from Granite Lists' sales of his donor database. An employee of Granite Lists said the firm's founder, Stephen Meyers, was traveling and unavailable for comment.

Walker's campaign had no comment on the sales of the donor list or whether the governor had sold his list to President-elect Donald Trump. But the website Politico reported a year ago that some of these list sales were deals in which candidates using Walker's list to raise money were splitting the cash with him.

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Vendors write down bills

In addition, Walker got a hand out of debt from 10 consultants who wrote off about $40,600 owed by the former presidential candidate.

In a filing with the Federal Elections Commission, Walker's campaign said it had reached settlements with 10 vendors in which they agreed to accept less than the full amount owed to them to ensure they got some payment as soon as possible.

In all, the 10 vendors were owed $374,100, but accepted payment of $333,500:

* Tusk Productions accepted a $3,800 cut.

* Superior Strategies accepted a $5,100 cut.

* Shirley and Banister Public Affairs accepted a $1,600 cut.

* Sharp Politics accepted a $6,000 cut.

* Prospect Strategic Communications accepted a $3,200 cut.

* Maverick Finance accepted a $1,000 cut.

* Maseng Communications accepted a $2,500 cut.

* Just Win Strategies accepted a $5,000 cut.

* Ground Game Strategies accepted a $2,500 cut.

* Drucker Lawhon accepted a $10,000 cut.

Individual donors are restricted to $2,700 contributions to a presidential campaign, limiting Walker's ability to have the debt paid off by a handful of his wealthiest supporters.

Clearing the debt frees Walker — the most prolific fundraiser in state politics — to turn his full political operation toward preparing to run for a third term. Walker has said he'll decide whether to run in that race after approving the next state budget this summer.

If Walker does decide to run for a third term, he’ll start with little cash on hand in his state campaign account -- he had $59,000 as of Dec. 31, according to a report he filed with the state Friday.

Last year, he raised nearly $1.8 million for his campaign for governor, but he spent almost everything he took in, the report shows.

Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.