Neumann Party of One

Considering the enormous sum of money Mark Neumann has spent since he launched his campaign in July, it's surprising he doesn't have more to show for it. No one is more surprised than Neumann himself.

In April of last year, Neumann made it clear that he intended to seek the Republican nomination for Governor. Touting the support of Tommy Thompson's chief political advisor, Neumann tried to slow the momentum of his would be rival Scott Walker on the eve of Walker’s official campaign kickoff.

Neumann believed he was better off waiting until July to make his candidacy official. That would allow him to steer clear of the heated state budget debate in Madison. The later entry would also allow Neumann to avoid posting an anemic campaign finance report at the end of June.

Neumann figured just announcing his intention to challenge Walker would encourage party activists and contributors to keep their powder dry. After all, he was a successful small businessman who almost beat Russ Feingold 12 years ago. Why wouldn’t the party faithful fall in line again?

At the state GOP convention in May, Walker announced the endorsement of 75 percent of the GOP county chairman, 12 of the 16 district chairman and vice-chairman and 2/3 of the GOP Executive Committee. And in a straw poll of convention delegates, Walker defeated Neumann by a margin of 93.4% - 5.9%.

Clearly Neumann’s “letter of intent" had no impact on the party faithful. And in June, when Scott Walker reported raising a record $1.2 million in the first six months of the year, it became evident that Republican donors at all levels weren’t holding back either.

Had Neumann officially thrown his hat in the ring prior the GOP convention, he would have had the opportunity to address convention delegates and directly ask for their support. In failing to do so, Neumann essentially dismissed the importance of the grassroots activists Scott Walker had been courting for months.

Following the convention, Neumann made a half-hearted effort to put the band back together through a series of one on one meetings with former supporters. When those efforts failed, Neumann retreated to his comfort zone, speaking to small congregations, while his campaign tried to gin up the illusion of momentum through social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

One year, three campaign managers, and over a million dollars later, Mark Neumann is learning the hard way, that when it comes to the grassroots activists, money can’t buy you love. That’s significant, because once the party has decided to endorse a candidate in the Republican primary, staff resources and financial support will be directed exclusively to helping the endorsed candidate cross the primary finish line first.

The significance is not lost on Neumann. His campaign is making a last ditch effort to convince convention delegates to refrain from endorsing a candidate at this year’s convention. Good luck with that, especially given the deceptive and apparently illegal tactics Neumann and his campaign have used. Here’s a tip for you Mark: Just because you’re really smart doesn’t mean the rest of us are really stupid.