Paul Ryan's '$1.50 Tweet' Pays Big Dividend For Opponent

RACINE, WI — An opponent of Speaker Paul Ryan in Wisconsin's First Congressional District says he's made some big-time campaign cash following a tweet by Ryan touting small-time wage gains.

At issue is a tweet that Ryan posted earlier this month. “A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week ... she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year,” Ryan posted on his Twitter account.

Supporters of the GOP tax bill say that Ryan's tweet was about touting small-time wage gains as a way to show that the bill stood to benefit the poor as well as the rich. In contrast, however, critics pointed fingers at Ryan, suggesting that he is out of touch with working people.

Ryan's opponent in Wisconsin's First District congressional race, Democrat Randy Bryce, said his campaign raised more than $150,000 in a campaign fundraiser in response to the Speaker's tweet.

"Shortly after Speaker Ryan deleted his tweet touting a secretary's $1.50 pay increase as proof of his tax bill's success, the Randy Bryce for Congress campaign encouraged people to express their disapproval of Ryan's tax reform by donating $1.50 to help Bryce defeat Ryan," the Bryce campaign tweeted on Feb. 3.

In the 48 hours after the tweet was deleted, the Bryce campaign says it's raised more than $150,000 from 12,253 individual donations. Nearly half of those contributions were for $1.50. The average contribution was $12.39. Nearly $50,000 was pledged in recurring donations through the election.

Image Via Patch.com/Scott Anderson