Washington – Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who has not faced a tough reelection in decades, had far less money in her campaign account than her GOP opponent on June 30, the end of the latest Federal Elections Commission reporting period.
DeLauro’s Republican challenger, Margaret Streicker, a Milford-based real estate company owner, ended the second quarter of the year with $456,443 in cash-on-hand in her campaign account.
Meanwhile, DeLauro, a Democrat who has represented the New Haven-based 3rd congressional district since 1991, had less than $288,000 in campaign cash at the end of the second quarter.
More than half the money Streicker has raised to challenge DeLauro has come out of the GOP businesswoman’s own pocket. She has loaned her campaign $350,000.
Still, Streicker has raised more money than the other Republicans challenging Connecticut’s Democratic congressional incumbents.
And some of the donors to Streicker’s political campaign are influential Republicans. Linda McMahon, a former U.S. Senate candidate who was tapped by President Donald Trump to head the Small Business Administration, gave $2,000. McMahon is now head of America First Action, a super PAC supporting Trump’s re-election that has spent nearly $16 million in this campaign cycle.
Streicker’s campaign has also received $4,000 from Bob Stefanowski, a wealthy Republican businessman who ran unsuccessfully against Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont in 2018.
DeLauro, however, appears unconcerned about the financial disadvantage. Her campaign indicated she will continue to use her campaign cash to aid House Democrats in tough races and Democratic challengers.
“Rosa is grateful for the support, the majority of which comes from her constituents in her district,” said DeLauro campaign manager Sarah Locke. “She is devoted to using these funds to elect and re-elect members of the House to maintain a Democratic majority. This is vital to achieve the critical changes this country needs.”
Many incumbents, especially Democrats, have pulled back on fundraising during the pandemic, preferring to tell constituents they will focus instead on efforts to press for congressional approval of federal aid during the coronavirus crisis.
As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, DeLauro has helped craft several stimulus bills in the federal government’s efforts to respond to the pandemic. The veteran lawmaker is also in the running to head the Appropriations Committee if she’s re-elected to the next Congress.
There’s a third candidate in the race for the 3rd District — Justin Cobb Paglino of the Green Party. He reported raising $4,860 and ending the quarter with $2,032 in his campaign war chest.