Groups raise $32M to support Gov. Walker’s presidential run

In all, president candidates of both parties and the outside groups supporting them have reported collecting $397 million during the first six months of this year, a USA TODAY tally shows.

The super PACs backing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) and Texas Sen.

Gov. Scott Walker’s allies have raised more than $26 million for his presidential campaign, putting him in the mix with other contenders despite his late entry into the race.

The super PAC’s haul underscores how much spending by outside groups will shape the 2016 presidential contest. A separate, state-level group, Friends of Scott Walker, announced it raised $5.9 million.

Gilkes is a longtime Walker aide who ran Walker’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign and then served as his chief of staff. Gilkes also ran Walker’s campaign during the 2012 recall election, which was triggered by anger generated by the Republican governor’s Act 10 measure that all but ended collective bargaining for most public workers in Wisconsin.

Walker had $483,000 cash on hand at the beginning of July in that committee.

An Our American Revival, created in January to support Walker’s exploration of a presidential run, says it raised $6.2 million in the first quarter of the year.

“These resources ensure that we can advocate for a leaner, more efficient, and more effective government, and for bold leaders from outside of Washington with a record of supporting these goals”, said Bridget Hagerty, the group’s executive director, in a written statement.