Name recognition and traction with the voters don’t come cheap in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District, which is well within the prohibitive television advertising footprint of New York City.
Former GOP State Sen. Dan Debicella, of Shelton, found that out in 2010, when he lost to freshman U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., by six percentage points.
Since then the premium on fundraising has only risen, with Himes winning another election by 20 points and then singled out to lead the fundraising machine of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
So when Debicella raised $302,808 to $373,746 for Himes during the final three months of 2013, Debicella’s campaign was quick to trumpet its haul for his 2014 comeback.
“We raised over 2.5 times more than we did during the same period four years ago,” John Puskar, Debicella’s campaign manager, said in a statement Monday. “Not only is Dan better known in Fairfield County, but people know this is once again going to be an extremely competitive race.”
Debicella’s campaign is focusing on contributions from individuals, saying they made up 100 percent of its haul during the fourth quarter.
For Himes, $223,075 came from individuals and $150,669 came from other entities such as political action committees (PACs), according to the Federal Election Commission.
“Our campaign significantly outraised Himes in terms of individual contributions,” Puskar said. “And while he continues to look to Washington lobbyists and insiders to fund his campaign – the very same lobbyists who he has been writing legislation for in exchange for campaign contributions – we are getting our donations from Connecticut. Jim Himes has become exactly why people do not like Washington, D.C.”
Himes recently told the editorial board of The Advocate and Greenwich Time that he consults a wide spectrum of stakeholders on the issues when crafting legislation and does not make special accommodations for contributors.
If he had his druthers, Himes said he would prefer that money didn’t permeate the political system.
“I’m also not going to bring a spoon to a knife fight, Himes said. “If I’m going to be in this, I’m going to be in this.”
It’s more like a machete in the case of Himes, who had $1.2 million cash on hand on Dec. 31, nearly $1 million more than Debicella.
State Rep. John Shaban, who resides in Redding, finished a distant second to Debicella among would-be challengers of Himes, raising $40,710 during the final quarter of 2013.
Retired Navy SEAL Carl Higbie, of Greenwich, and opthamologist Joe Bentivegna, of Fairfield, recently embarked on their respective campaigns and did not report fundraising totals to the FEC.
State GOP Chairman Jerry Labriola Jr. characterized Debicella’s haul as impressive.
“It shows breadth of support a year before the election,” Labriola said.