Esty Flush With Cash As The Primary Nears

By Amanda Falcone On August 3, 2012 · 4 Comments

With less than two weeks until the primary, Elizabeth Esty has, by far, the most money of any candidate in the 5th Congressional District race — Democrat or Republican.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission Thursday, Esty, a Democrat from Cheshire, had $857,550 on hand as of July 25.

Republican Mark Greenberg, of Litchfield, also had a lot of money on hand — $589,288.

The new reports take into account campaign contributions and spending between July 1 and July 25. Esty also received the most money in contributions during that time — $89,937, and she spent the most money — $637,691.

Christopher Donovan, the Meriden resident who was endorsed by the Democratic Party in May, had $377,060 on hand and raised $77,760, showing that his campaign continues despite the federal investigation into his campaign finances.

Several of the people who contributed to Donovan’s campaign in July either work for a labor union or serve in the state legislature. He also received money from political action committees.

Donovan’s finance report did not reveal how much money was spent on the internal investigation he launched into whether his campaign staff members collected financial contributions in exchange for Donovan’s help in killing a specific bill in the state legislature. Donovan currently serves as speaker of the state House of Representatives.

Donovan hired former U.S. Attorney Stan Twardy to conduct the internal investigation, and some say the investigation cost the campaign as much as $250,000. Twardy found no evidence that Donovan was aware of the scheme, and there was no record of Donovan’s campaign paying Twardy for his services in the July report.

4 Responses to Esty Flush With Cash As The Primary Nears

Anderson Scooper says:

August 3, 2012 at 1:51 pm

Hi Amanda,

You fail to indicate that Esty is flush with cash only because she lent herself a cool $500,000 on July 23rd, two days before this latest report was filed. (If Donovan lent himself $500,000, he’d have just as much cash on hand.)

It must be wonderful to be rich enough to gamble an ordinary person’s life savings on a political campaign. I guess Elizabeth really means it when she refers to the middle class as “They” in her campaign ads!
Jim says:

August 3, 2012 at 3:31 pm

Ms. Esty scares me (her solutions to our economic problems are truly juvenile). She is another tax and spend candidate, but of course she will “fight for us”. She needs to “fight for us” by going to school and appreciably increasing her understanding of economics, economic stimulative methods and deficit reduction techniques…or she, like so many of her brethren, can turn out the state’s lights after many more businesses and constituents have fled!
Nick says:

August 3, 2012 at 4:13 pm

That Don`t mean I`m voting for Her, Stop the Mud slinging Tell us where You stand on issues. I really am getting tired of the TV BS…
badbob says:

August 5, 2012 at 10:38 am

She’s tapped into that national dem vein $$ spigot for ultra libs with the right education, lawyerly connections and rightheaded opinions. Her litmus test? Look how fast she came out with the lib gun control mantra the day of the Colorado theater massacre. Wow, most others wanted to learn more. She already had her thoughts “in order” 8 hrs later. Scary.

Donovan was a “union self-funder” (synonym for pol union dues extortionist) and Dem leader up until his stepped in you know what.

The National Dems are apprehensive. They know the 5th is ripe for a political uprising against their monopoly in CT. With the press’s assistance (not the HC of course) its a lock. Ms. Esty is the beneficiary.

What the pitiful voters of CT don’t get is that the tsunami that will sweep out Obama and lock down the house for the Repubs in Nov is going to mean beggar stauts for the state in the economic changes sure to follow!