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DuBois-Walton, Elicker: Mayoral campaign fundraising has begun.
$69,652 in three-plus weeks, from over 400 donors.
$120,000 in two-plus months, from more than 600 donors.
Karen DuBois-Walton Tuesday reported raising the former amount so far through her exploratory committee for a run for mayor.
Incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker reported raising the latter amount.
DuBois-Walton and Elicker both released those figures midday Tuesday in separate campaign email press releases about their first-quarter fundraising efforts, racing to spin the narrative in the opening rounds of an expected Democratic mayoral campaign.
The first quarter ended on March 31. Candidates race to raise as much as possible by that deadline to present totals that signal momentum in their quests.
Neither political figure is required to officially file their first quarter fundraising paperwork with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) until April 10.
Tuesday’s announcements nevertheless offered messaging around what those numbers should look like when made public later this week.
They also indicate the seriousness with which DuBois-Walton, who announced the formation of her exploratory committee in early March and who has yet to form an official candidate committee, appears to be considering a real challenge to the first-term incumbent mayor.
DuBois-Walton has not held many public campaign events since announcing her exploratory committee on March 8. That has led some New Haveners to wonder whether or not she actually plans on mounting an official challenge to Elicker.
DuBois-Walton’s email release Tuesday states that DuBois-Walton “has been strategically working behind the scenes meeting with small groups of constituents to listen to community concerns and engage residents on a personal level.”
She told the Independent by email later on Tuesday that she expects to decide by the end of April whether or not she will form a candidate committee and mount an official challenge to Elicker.
Elicker announced the launch of his reelection campaign in late January. He has already filed his official candidate committee paperwork, and his campaign has sent out regular email fundraising requests and updates over the past two months.
“We’re so honored and proud to receive this kind of widespread support while still exploring a run,” DuBois-Walton is quoted as saying in her press release.
“This level of excitement and engagement shows just how ready New Haven is for new leadership. As I continue to explore a run for Mayor, we’ll continue to work to ensure that folks all across this city get a chance to express what they’re looking for from their city’s government and commit to identify new ways to ensure our city’s leadership works for and with the community it serves.”
In his campaign’s email, Elicker thanked his supporters for their Q1 donations and for helping “put this campaign in a very strong position out of the gate.”
“This is going to be a long campaign,” he wrote in Tuesday’s email, “and we’ve got a lot of work to do in the coming weeks and months, but you stepped up and built a strong foundation.”
The Breakdown, So Far
DuBois-Walton’s email press release states that her exploratory committee raised $69,652 from more than 400 donors.
Elicker’s states that his candidate committee raised “more than $120,000” from “more than 600 individuals.”
(Click here to read about the official fundraising numbers from the 2019 mayoral campaign.)
DuBois-Walton’s email states that 36 percent of her donations came from New Haven residents, including from all 30 city wards, and that 83 percent of donations came from Connecticut.
Elicker’s email states that more than 70 percent of his campaign donations came from New Haven residents.
DuBois-Walton’s email states that the average donation to her exploratory committee was $171.98, that 17 percent of donations were less than $50, and that the maximum individual donation amount was $375.
That individual-donation cap falls within the $390 maximum allowed by candidates interested in receiving matching public financing grants through the city’s Democracy Fund.
Elicker has already committed to participating in the city’s public financing program, as he did in 2019. He said in his campaign email he expects to receive another roughly $40,000 in matching funds through the city’s clean elections program as part of his Q1 fundraising.
Isn't it crazy that in order to run for political office in our country you aren't even considered a serious candidate unless you raise tones of money in donations to run your campaign.
All that money spent on advertising, paying volunteers to get the word out, and all the other expenses associated with running for a political office.
I think with all of the free advertising and contacting of voters you could do with the internet and social media and technology, you should be able to not need all that money. Then you could ask donors instead to give to social services organizations and charities that you as a candidate support, and do so much more good for the people you represent, instead of wasting that money on a political campaign. Maybe instead of raising money for your campaign being the benchmark for your candidacy, it could be measured by how many dollars you raise for organizations that help your community.
And if you didn't need all that money in order to run for office and be considered a serious candidate, then people of more modest incomes could run for office and it would open up the possibilities of who we get offered as candidates.
And maybe we could end the stranglehold the Democratic and Republican parties have on our elections, and have third and fourth parties that stand a chance of winning.
And maybe we could have ranked choice voting so you don't feel that voting your conscience is throwing your vote away, and having to hold your nose and vote for one candidate of one of the two established parties, knowing you really don't like either candidate, but wanting the lesser of two evils to win.