Chris Donovan said Wednesday that he expects his 5th District campaign to cost between $1 million and $2 million-and that’s just for the primary.
So it’s no wonder he was in D.C. this week for a fundraiser, along with some other political meetings. Donovan wouldn’t say how much his D.C. event, closed to press, was expected to raise.
But he said the “host committee”–Reps. John Larson, Joe Courtney, and Jim Himes, of the 1st, 2nd and 4th districts respectively-are “working hard to get people there.”
He said the invitees were likely to include many of the progressive groups he’s long allied himself with, such as Public Citizen and Health Care for America Now, a liberal advocacy group that’s run by Ethan Rome, a former top Democratic aide in the Connecticut state legislature.
Donovan said his D.C. visit was a chance to tell Washington advocates about his work in Connecticut. “We’ve really made Connecticut a beacon of blue across the United States,” he said. “We’ve done minimum wage, we’ve done paid sick leave, we did marriage equity, public financing of campaigns.”
Asked about the cost of the campaign, he said “It depends on the size of the primary, if there is one.”
If there is one? Donovan already has three competitors for the Democratic nod, and there are four Republicans vying for the GOP nomination.
Still, Donovan exuded confidence about the contest. “I’m not assuming a primary but I’m preparing for one. I’m the best candidate,” he said.
Still, he said the primary would cost at least $1 million and maybe $2 million, plus the same again for the general.