Intrade is one of my first stops...

...every morning, and I've been noticing that the chance that Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin survives his upcoming recall election has been rising steadily. (It's currently at almost 70%.)  

What's going on up there?, I usually ask myself. Is it because Walker doesn't yet have an opponent?

Today, Chris Cillizza refers to an article which sheds some light (my emphasis):

Gov. Scott Walker continues to shatter fundraising records in an effort to survive the upcoming recall election, raising about $13 million in the most recent campaign filing period. 

The governor’s latest totals, which cover the period of Jan. 18 through April 23, bring his war chest to more than $25 million raised since January 2011. 

That’s nearly triple the record he set in the last filing period, when Walker raised $4.6 million between Dec. 11 and Jan. 17. The previous total was the most ever raised during one period by a candidate for state office. 

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The governor has spent much of this year traveling across the country raising money. As a target of a recall election, he has become a national Republican hero, a status that has helped him raise vast amounts. 

The difference between his fundraising totals and his opponents’ is substantial. 

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Large Walker donors outside Wisconsin include school voucher advocate Richard M. DeVos, billionaire owner of the Orlando Magic and the co-founder of the direct sales marketing company Amway; and Sheldon Adelson, billionaire CEO of the Las Vegas Sands who has given tens of millions to the super PAC supporting presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. Both men gave $250,000. Another billionaire, Warren Stephens, an investment banker and conservative financier, donated $100,000. 

In comparison, Walker's two likeliest opponents, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, have raised $830,000 and $977,000, respectively.