Esty raised most campaign cash this year, but Himes has biggest war chest

Washington – While it seems they ended their last campaigns just a short while ago, the members of Connecticut’s House delegation have begun raising money for their re-election efforts.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5^th District, raised nearly $275,000 in the first three months of this year, her campaign’s latest filings with the Federal Election Commission show. That was the most any member of the House delegation raised in the period. She ended the first quarter with about $225,000 in cash on hand.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-4^th District, reported having the most money on hand, about $1.1 million. He raised $143,000 in the first quarter. The congressional districts Esty and Himes represent are considered the most competitive in Connecticut.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3^rd District, who has not had a tough rival for her seat since 1990, raised $111,000 during the period but reported the least campaign cash on March 31, about $52,000. Her campaign manager, Jimmy Tickey, said DeLauro’s cash on hand was “on par with our past first quarters of a new election cycle, and our campaign efforts will continue as Rosa runs for re-election in 2016.”

Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2^nd District, reported raising $102,648 in this quarter and spent more than that, about $119,000  in this cycle.  He ended the reporting period with about $627,000 in cash on hand.

Another Connecticut Democrat who has not had a tough re-election race for years, Rep. John Larson of the Hartford-based 1^st District, raised $122,815 and reported about $337,000 in cash on hand at the end of the quarterly filing period.

No Republican or Democrat has announced an interest in challenging the lawmakers, but there’s still plenty of time to do that before the November 2016 elections.