Some Wisconsin Republicans pushed for a bigger role in Indian gaming compacts because they want tribal contributions, former Republican governor Scott McCallum said.

McCallum told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that tribes offered to contribute money to his campaign if he supported an open-ended compact. He refused and lost the election to Jim Doyle, a Democrat who received nearly $1 million in tribal funds and ended up signing a new agreement.

"I was going to get the best deal for the state that I could, and there was no way I was going to agree to an indefinite term," McCallum said.

The state Supreme Court struck down the open-ended compact and the Class III games it authorized. Campaign watchers say the decision will lead to an increase in tribal contributions this fall but tribal representatives said no decisions had been made to do so.

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Tribes may flex financial muscle in fall elections (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 5/24)