Connecticut Republicans Look to Trump Dodd's Five Home State Donors

By Emily Cadei | April 17, 2009 5:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Connecticut Republicans leapt on the news that Democratic Sen. Christopher J. Dodd only tallied 5 donations from Connecticut residents in the first three months of 2009, hoping they can use it to rake in more cash for themselves.

Both Republican Senate challenger Rob Simmons and the state GOP sent out e-mail fundraising appeals Friday playing off a report in the Connecticut Post that only a $4,250 of Dodd's $1 million in total receipts in the first quarter came from Connecticut donors. Five Connecticut donors, to be exact.

"Let's show Senator Dodd what it means to run a real grassroots campaign based on Connecticut values," Simmons' e-mail to supporters said. The former 2nd District House member pledged to "personally call 5 Connecticut supporters who donate online before the end of the day tomorrow" to thank them. "That's as many Connecticut donors as Senator Dodd reported having in three months!"

Chris Healy, the chairman of the Connecticut Republican party, also sent an email to supporters Friday, in which he issued a challenge: "For every donor Chris Dodd has from Connecticut, I want 50!"

"Let's find 250 donors from around Connecticut to give $25, $50 or even $250 and show Chris Dodd that the Connecticut Republicans have support from the people who he is paid to represent," Healy wrote.

Dodd's low financial support from his home state is unprecedented, but it does fit into a pattern his fundraising has followed for years. Since 2000, Dodd has raised between 67 and 78 percent of his funds from out-of-state. Still, as Healy noted in his e-mail, that ratio of out-of-state funds soared to 99.9 percent in the first quarter.

Dodd, could however, point to a large chunk of individual donors with addresses in metropolitan regions of Boston and New York City, which border his state. Many professionals in those cities also have residences in Connecticut.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee raised $437,000 of his first quarter funds from political action committees, including a large number of banking and financial industry PACs. While such fundraising helps Dodd build the war chest he will need to defend his seat and resurrect his low approval ratings, it also plays into the mounting criticism that he is more tuned in to the financial industry than his own constituents.

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