FEC Report Confirms Dip In Donovan Fundraising; Esty Leading In Money Race

Still recovering from the arrest of his finance director, Democrat Christopher Donovan saw his fundraising slow down last month as a lesser-known opponent pulled further ahead in the campaign’s money race.

Former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty is the fundraising leader in the Democratic primary in the 5th Congressional District race with $1.50 million raised and more than $905,000 cash on hand as of the latest quarter that ended June 30. Donovan, by comparison, has raised $1.09 million and has $570,000 cash on hand – more than $300,000 below Esty. Dan Roberti of Kent has also raised slightly more than Donovan, but he ranks third among the candidates regarding cash on hand at $288,000.

For the quarter, Esty raised more than twice as much as Donovan with $341,000 compared to about $150,000 for Donovan, according to the reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. A report filed by the end of April shows that the campaign raised nearly $47,000 in that month alone. But the campaign only raised about $65,000 over the next two months—May and June—combined.

Braddock

Donovan has been mentioned in the news consistently since the arrest of his finance director, Robert Braddock Jr., on May 30. His fundraising operation was thrown into chaos as Braddock and a finance assistant, 30-year-old Sara Waterfall, were both fired. Campaign manager Josh Nassi was also fired.

But both the campaign and political observers said Monday that Donovan is still a formidable candidate with strong backing from some of the state’s largest unions. The unions are often a key factor in Democratic primaries, running telephone banks to spread the word and churning out the vote by their members on Election Day.

Gary Rose, the chairman of the political science department at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, said that Donovan is “still in the driver’s seat’’ for the primary on August 14.

“I think it has hurt him, but it hasn’t derailed his candidacy,’’ Rose said of the fundraising scandal. “It certainly will have a diminishing effect on the viability of his campaign, but in Connecticut, these union candidates have a strong base of support that is very hard to dissuade. He hasn’t been arrested. He hasn’t been indicted. It looks like his fundraising has suffered somewhat, but in a real demonstrable way, it has not reduced his front-runner status.’’

Rose added, “As long as this investigation doesn’t really result in an indictment of him, I think he will weather the storm.’’

Rose said he was speaking specifically about the primary on August 14.

Donovan’s spokesman, Gabe Rosenberg, expressed optimism about the campaign Monday.

“We have a great team in place now, and we have enough money to run and win a competitive primary,” Rosenberg said.

The ongoing scandal may have already cost the campaign some valuable contributions. Former Time Inc. executive John Millington told The Courant in late June that had been planning to hold a fundraiser at his Litchfield County home but had postponed it because of Braddock’s arrest the previous month. Millington said he had expected the fundraiser to bring in $25,000 for Donovan’s campaign.
And the investigation could continue to weigh on Donovan’s efforts to reach voters, as at least one of his Democratic rivals said he plans to keep highlighting the investigation as one reason why Donovan shouldn’t win the primary vote.

“The way the investigation is dragging on, if the nominee is Chris Donovan, it makes it impossible to win [the general election] if a solid opponent emerges on the other side,” Roberti said in an interview Monday. “They need to know that their vote on August 14 could be the difference in what happens in the general election as well.”

Roberti finished the second quarter with the least cash on hand of the three candidates and the smallest fundraising haul for the period of April through June. Roberti, who is from Kent, has raised $1.19 million overall, slightly ahead of Donovan. He said he has been scaling back his fundraising efforts to spend more time meeting voters in person.

State Republican chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr. said he expects that the unions will continue to support Donovan straight through to the primary.

“I’m not surprised that the scandal hasn’t suppressed his fundraising all that much,’’ Labriola said. “He continues to be bought and paid for by the government union bosses. … The government unions will stand behind him.’’

With a three-way Democratic primary and a four-way Republican primary on August 14, Labriola said it is “arguably the most fascinating Congressional race in the country.’’

Labriola said he was surprised by the fundraising prowess of Esty.

“How does a one-term state rep, running against the party-establishment candidate, raise [more than] a million bucks?’’ Labriola asked.

Esty finished the quarter with more cash on hand and more total funds raised than either of her competitors. She also had the highest amounts after the first quarter, but she pulled further ahead during the second quarter.

A graduate of Harvard College and Yale University law school, Esty has a series of high-level contacts from her college days and her career as an attorney and a state legislator. Her husband, Dan Esty, also graduated from Harvard and has contacts as a Yale University professor and well-known author on environmental issues. He currently serves as the commissioner of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Jeb Fain, spokesman for Esty’s campaign, would not say whether the investigation of Donovan’s campaign has helped her fundraising.

He also wouldn’t say whether the campaign plans to use the federal probe as a line of attack against the Donovan, who beat out Esty for the party’s convention endorsement in mid-May, before the scandal broke.

“All I’ll say is that our campaign is really focused on the issues,” he said. “They (voters) are concerned about jobs and the economy. That’s what she’s talking about.”