Those of us who spend election years sifting through candidates’ campaign finance reports know that special thrill of stumbling over celebrity, semi-celebrity and/or pseudo-celebrity donors.
Here are some discoveries I made this afternoon…
Saturday Night Live alum Jane Curtin of Sharon gave a small amount – $250 – of her Conehead cash to Democratic state House Speaker Chris Donovan’s bid to represent the 5th Congressional District.
Forensic expert Dr. Henry Lee of Branford was far more generous to state Rep. William Tong, donating a total of $5,000 to the Stamford Democrat’s campaign for the party’s U.S. Senate nomination.
And Robert Gallo, owner of E & J Gallo Winery in California, sent a $500 check to Liz Esty, the ex-state legislator who is competing with Donovan for the 5th District nomination.
One semi-celebrity who has helped Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon in the past is absent from less involved in her most recent campaign filing … Linda McMahon.
McMahon used the wealth her family accumulated through its Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment empire (that’s husband and occasional WWE performer Vince whose hair’s getting yanked) to fund her $50 million Senate run in 2010. McMahon is trying to do more fundraising this time around…
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January 30, 2012
Linda McMahon’s campaign for US Senate today announced raising $326,646 from 1,085 new donors in the fourth quarter of 2011. More than 80 percent of the contributions to the campaign came from Connecticut residents.
The 1,085 individual donors have joined Team Linda as part of a strategic grassroots effort to reach voters across Connecticut.
Hey Brian, are you sure that the McMahon fundraising number isn’t a massive FAIL?
I mean with each power couple able to donate up to $15,000 each, Linda comes out with less than 50 Fairfield County die-hard supporters? And I thought she and Vince were popular with the Round Hill CC crowd….
I’ll bet you that ultimately her newly “made-over” campaign will be funded 90% or more by the McMahon’s WWE fortune. (although after the Buffet Rule passes, who knows, maybe they choose not to be so, so profligate with their hobby spending).
Are we really seeing Linda turn a new leaf, with supporter buy-in, or will it just be more of the same tired candidate, — albeit re-packaged at a cost of gosh knows how many more millions of dividend dollars?
All I can do is quote that famous SNL line: “Jane….you ignorant slut!”
And it still fits.