Millionaire Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, more than doubled all the contributions to his campaign to unseat Connecticut Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman. Lamont contributed $371,500 of the $712,611 collected by his campaign.
Senator Lieberman raised $947,000 during the same period.
According to the New York Times, Senator Lieberman has about $4.7 million in his campaign account, more than 10 times as much as Lamont's $375,916.
Lamont has said he will spend whatever he has to, of his own money to get his campaign started. Spending too much of his own money could be counterproductive. Under the "millionaire's amendment" to the federal campaign reform act of 2002, if Lamont spends more than $514,000 of his own money Lieberman's donors would be able to triple their maximum contributions from $2,100 to $6,300.
The Senator has a more than adequate base of contributors to raise those extra contributions should it become necessary. A spokesman for the Senator Lieberman's campaign said that the campaign has received a total of 24,000 contributions since December 2000.
Lamont's campaign manager, Tom Swan, thinks these fundraising results will convince "traditional Democratic Party fund-raisers" that Mr. Lamont can win and therefore lead to more contributions. Swan is wrong. Lamont's strength is the new untraditional Democratic Party fundraisers. As the Hartford Courant's Mark Pazniokas reports, Lamont will be an invited guest in Los Angeles at the birthday party of Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, creator of the Daily Kos. That blog encouraged and supports Lamont's campaign.
The "traditional" Democratic leadership has rallied around Senator Lieberman.
At least two Republicans are running for Lieberman’s Senate seat: Paul Streitz of Darien and former Derby Mayor Alan Schlesinger.
Streitz has raised $2,734, he said, while Schlesinger plans to formally launch his campaign Monday.
Green Party Senate candidate Ralph Ferrucci of New Haven has raised $670.
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