Don Michak, writing in the Manchester Journal Inquirer, has done a terrific job of analyzing the contributions to the campaigns of the Republican candidates:
1. Rob Simmons
Out-of-state conservatives fund Simmons campaign against Dodd
Robert R. Simmons…accepted tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in the second quarter from hard-line conservatives, most of whom live outside of Connecticut.
The former 2nd District congressman’s latest report to the Federal Election Commission shows that his supporters included at least 20 individuals affiliated with conservative organizations, foundations, research groups, and politicians. They include the group that attacked Sen. John Kerry’s war record in the 2000 election — Swift Boat Veterans for Truth — and another that last year linked President Obama to a former Weather Underground member — the American Issues Project.
Others include the Club for Growth, which has challenged Republican moderates such as Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine and former Sen. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island…
Lawyers like Caligiuri
State Sen. Sam S.F. Caligiuri of Waterbury — the least known of the three Republicans seeking to challenge U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd — reported collecting significantly less than his opponents in the second quarter.
Caligiuri’s.. benefactors included a group of 37 lawyers like himself, including Jack E. McGregor of Bridgeport and Martin L. Budd of Stamford, who each gave him $2,400…
3. Tom Foley
Bankers back Foley
Nearly all of the $534,030 in campaign contributions collected in the second quarter by Republican Thomas C. Foley — the Greenwich businessman seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd — came from 159 donors who gave at least $1,000, including 78 who each made the maximum allowable individual contribution of $4,800.
Moreover, about a third of all 178 of Foley’s contributors — 61 individuals — are identified in his latest report to the Federal Election Commission as various types of bankers, money managers, venture capitalists, financial advisers, private equity executives, and “investors.”
While it’s not unusual for big donors to federal candidates to be wealthy or to hold high-paying jobs, the number of donors described as working in the financial services industry is extraordinary…
4. In addition, Michak reported on the efforts of Peter Schiff to raise enough out-of-state Libertarian funds to run a Republican primary campaign:
Schiff says he’ll run for Dodd seat if enough contributePeter Schiff, the Darien stockbroker who could become the fourth Republican candidate out to unseat U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, says he’ll enter the contest if enough people contribute to his campaign over the next week.
In a video posted on a “Schiffathon” Web site, the 45-year old potential candidate says he has done research, conducted polling, and acquired a “political consultant” in preparation for a Senate bid…
But he suggests his decision is likely to rest on the outcome of the weeklong fundraising promotion, which the Web site indicates will include a telethon featuring “many great guests well known to the patriot movement.”
The term patriot movement most often has been used to describe advocates who object to government “encroachment” on their Constitutionally guaranteed “unalienable rights.” Many were involved in the Tea Party events held around the country to protest the Obama administration’s tax policy and stimulus programs…
Meet the candidates:
Simmons:
Caligiuiri:
Schiff:
