Bysiewicz raises almost $427,000 for Senate bid

U.S. Senate hopeful Susan Bysiewicz raised $426,990 during the 2^nd quarter of 2011, according to an email statement from her campaign today. That brings her total so far this year to a little more than $900,000.

A campaign spokesman said she had about $720,000 in the bank at the end of June, the close of the 2^nd fundraising quarter. Bysiewicz, a Democrat and the former secretary of the state, was the first to announce her Senate campaign in January.

She faces two other Democrats in what is likely to be a hotly contested primary. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5^th District, announced last week that he had raised $925,000 from April through June. His campaign provided the Mirror with his campaign summary sheets, which show that he ended the quarter with $1.6 million on hand.

The third Democratic candidate, state Rep. William Tong, also released his 2^nd quarter haul last week-he raised about $550,000. He ended with more than $500,000 in the bank.

All of them are vying to replace Sen. Joseph Lieberman, a Connecticut independent who is retiring in 2012. There are no announced Republican contenders for the open seat yet.