Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Green attempted Thursday to capitalize on a state board's decision requiring him to forfeit nearly $468,000 in campaign donations, calling on supporters to raise a nearly identical amount in 72 hours.

The State Elections Board on Wednesday, voting 5-2 along partisan lines, ordered Green to forfeit $467,844 in campaign cash he had raised as a member of Congress, saying it could not legally be transferred to his governor's race account.

Graul said Green has no intention of divesting the money and will fight the board's decision in court if necessary. The fundraising request was sent to capitalize on calls from supporters wanting to know what they could do to help, Graul said. It was not sent to come up with the cash needed to meet the board's order, he said.

Graul reiterated that the campaign will not return the money because it has already been spent. The board ordered the money be returned within 10 working days, which would be Sept. 15 at the earliest.

The board decided that money raised during the entire election cycle, from the day Green filed for office in January 2005 through the end of 2006, was to be counted, Kyle Richmond said. Therefore, even if the money had been spent, it could be replaced with any other money raised during that time, he said.

The board voted that Green needs to divest nearly $468,000 in money received from political action committees, or PACs, not registered in Wisconsin. It also voted that Green must return anything over the state limit of $485,000 in PAC donations. The nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which brought the complaint, said Green was $156,140 over as the end of June.

The board's decision revolves around a rule passed by the board in January 2005 prohibiting a candidate from spending any contributions transferred from a federal campaign committee that would not have been allowed to be collected under state law. Wisconsin law prohibits accepting campaign contributions from PACs not registered in the state.

A month after the rule was passed, a legislative committee suspended it. However, the full Legislature never reversed the rule. The board's vote upheld the WDC complaint which said Green was in violation, which went back into effect on July 13 because of the legislative inaction.

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