In races for Congress, CT Dems have money edge over GOP rivals

Democratic lawmakers from Connecticut maintain a significant fundraising advantage over their Republican challengers just a few weeks before the midterm elections, when the balance of power in Congress is at stake.

While the midterms are historically challenging for the party in power, Republicans have had a cash advantage at the national level. But a number of Democratic candidates have vastly outraised and outspent their Republican opponents, and that trend extends to Connecticut.

Democrats are expected to have a good electoral prospects nationally, with their eyes on both the House and Senate majorities, though the odds look better in the former. The same applies to Connecticut, where all five of its House seats are up and likely to stay blue. The most competitive race is in the western 5th Congressional District.

Candidates for federal office file quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission. The most recent one covers fundraising and spending from July through the end of September. They are some of the last snapshots candidates will provide of the money race before Election Day.

Four of the five Democratic candidates in Connecticut are incumbents and have the duel advantage of official and campaign events to reach constituents with their message. Plus, sitting members are big beneficiaries of contributions from political action committees that represent a range of special interests that come before Congress.

Luke Bronin, the Democrat who defeated U.S. Rep. John Larson in the primary, also has a well-funded campaign coming out of his competitive four-way race in August. After outside groups contributed in the 1st District Democratic primary, spending from national committees and super PACs isn’t expected to materialize in Connecticut’s general elections.

Without the necessary funds, candidates who are raising little money won’t be able to go up on the airwaves with advertising and have to get more creative to try to break through. They are instead focusing on the ground game, with door-knocking and other less costly get-out-the-vote efforts.

Here’s a breakdown of the fundraising in each race: 

1st Congressional District

Bronin, who was a fundraising powerhouse during the Democratic primary, continues to raise and spend a lot of his resources. The former Hartford mayor faces Republican nominee Amy Chai, a physician, and Green Party nominee Mary Sanders on Nov. 3. All three will debate on Oct. 22 in West Hartford hosted by the League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford. Mark Stewart Greenstein is running as a write-in candidate.

His quarterly haul covers the last few weeks of the primary campaign. Bronin went on to defeat Larson and two other candidates on Aug. 11. He’s now favored in the general election because the Hartford-based district is one of the most Democratic in the state. He said in a recent interview he doesn’t take the race for granted and described the midterm elections writ large as “turning the political tide for years to come.”

One of the main themes of that primary focused on who contributed to the top two candidates. Bronin pledged not to accept donations from corporate political action committees, which were a large portion of Larson’s contributions. But they sparred over the wealthy donors funding both campaigns.

In his recent fundraising quarter, Bronin raised about $629,000, spent $872,000 and still has $357,000 left in his campaign account as of the end of September. Similar to previous fundraising, it’s a mixture of individual contributors who are giving smaller-dollar donations as well as a wealthier network of donors from private equity and other businesses.

He once again spent money on polling and advertising. Outside of his own campaign, he made contributions to other Democratic House candidates including Stefany Shaheen in New Hampshire and Manny Rutinel in Colorado, who both won their respective primaries. Bronin transferred money to the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee and $50,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Democrats’ main committee focused on flipping the House.

Chai, meanwhile, is far behind on fundraising. Throughout her campaign, she raised a total of nearly $21,000 and spent about $16,000 as of the end of June. After her most recent report, she didn’t add much to her haul, raising another $445 and spending about $137. She has $307 left in the bank after Sept. 30.

The group U.S. Term Limits sent out a voter education mailer earlier this year, thanking Chai for signing a pledge to support a resolution for two terms in the U.S. Senate and three terms in the U.S. House. The nonpartisan group acknowledges when candidates make the pledge but hasn’t endorsed anyone.

Chai said Republican candidates seeking federal office in Connecticut aren’t getting much help from the party. She said she doesn’t have the money to hire others. To lighten the workload, she said, she programmed bots to help with some tasks.

“I’m doing literally aspect of the campaign exclusively by myself,” she said in a recent interview, noting her work on graphics, bot programming and door knocking.

2nd Congressional District

In the eastern part of the state, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney continues to hold a cash advantage, but the Democratic congressman and his Republican challenger George Austin spent similar amounts over the past three months.

Courtney raised $168,000 — half from individual contributors (like Electric Boat employees) and the other half from various political action committees that give to sitting members — and spent $137,000 between July and September. He ended that month with nearly $630,000 cash on hand. He made a contribution to a fellow colleague, U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez, who’s seeking a third term in New Mexico.

Austin, a contractor from Suffield, raised nearly $30,000 and spent $105,000 during that same three-month period. He has $124,000 left to spend on the campaign. Nearly all of his donors are from Connecticut, including state workers, construction workers, an Electric Boat employee, and eight local Republican Town Committees. U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, also made a donation to Austin.

Austin has spent money on radio, magazine and Facebook advertising as well as text messages and campaign merchandise like banners, signs, magnets and shirts.

Since the launch of the campaign, Austin’s total fundraising haul surpasses $314,000, but much of that comes from a $240,000 in loans that he gave to his campaign.

The candidates will participate in at least two forums, including a meet-the-candidates event in Storrs on Monday night.

3rd Congressional District

The longest-serving member of Connecticut’s delegation, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro continues to bring in a sizable haul as she seeks a 19th term in Congress. She faces Republican Chris Lancia in the race for the New Haven-based district.

In the past three months, DeLauro raised nearly $410,000 and spent over half a million. She ended September with $193,000. She brought in about $1.5 million over the course of the 2026 campaign.

Similar to Courtney and the other Democratic incumbents, about half of her haul comes from PACs. The bulk of DeLauro’s spending went toward contributions to the DCCC as well as the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee.

Lancia, a Coast Guard veteran and former federal law enforcement officer employed as a manager at TNI, a provider of fiber networks, is the Republican nominee running against DeLauro.

His most recent quarterly report did not appear in the FEC system in time for this story. Since the start of his campaign, he raised nearly $15,000 and spent about $4,500. He had $4,000 cash on hand as of June 30.

Given the scant resources, Lancia said in a recent interview, his focus has been on meeting voters where they are, especially through door knocking. He said he’s “been to so many towns every day” and still goes to the homes of Democratic voters, noting his past voter affiliation from years ago before he became a Republican. He argued that candidates are too focused on fundraising, saying it doesn’t guarantee a win.

No debate or forum appears to be planned for the 3rd District race. Tom Egan is a candidate endorsed by the Independent Party of Connecticut and Andrew Rice, who failed to make the Democratic primary ballot, is running as a write-in candidate.

4th Congressional District

U.S. Rep. Jim Himes has been one of the most prolific fundraisers of the incumbents and has the largest campaign account of all the Connecticut Democrats: $2.4 million cash on hand.

Himes raised nearly $299,000 and spent $387,000 in the last three months. His contributors consist of PACs and individual contributors. His spending includes fundraising events, donations to a local group in Bridgeport and contributions to the state and national party apparatuses, like his colleagues. Himes also made multiple contributions to more than a dozen members of Congress seeking reelection.

He represents the southwest corner of the state, which was the last congressional district that Republicans held in Connecticut. Himes flipped it in the 2008 election. While it has trended blue since his first election, the congressman argued that the “nature of the district hasn’t changed that much” and that the Republican Party as well as independent voters themselves have shifted since then.

His Republican challenger, Michael Goldstein, raised more than $11,000 and spent nearly $27,000. He went into the final weeks of the campaign with about $25,000 in the bank. He’s received a mixture of individual contributions from inside and outside Connecticut. And he spent on things like SMS advertising and yard signs.

Goldstein is a doctor and attorney who has previously run for the 4th District. He lost the Republican primary in 2022 but became the GOP nominee in 2024, eventually losing to Himes. This summer, Goldstein won a two-way primary for the nomination.

“I think they’ll get support from their towns, but they’re not getting it from the state party at all. That is one of the issues that we all think about and wonder about,” Goldstein said in a recent interview. “I think that a more engaged Republican Party would probably be much better for the candidates. But this has been this way for a while. I don’t see it changing soon.”

Himes, Goldstein and Independent candidate Benjamin Wesley will square off in a debate on Monday night in Westport hosted by the League of Women Voters.

5th Congressional District

The sprawling 5th District in the western part of the states remains the only competitive federal race in Connecticut. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes had a nail-biter reelection race in 2022 but won by a larger margin in 2024.

This cycle, election analysts who rate federal races moved it closer to Democrats because the party in power historically faces headwinds in a midterm election.

From July through September, Hayes brought in her largest haul of the 2026 cycle and outraised Republican opponent Chris Shea. But the two candidates spent similar amounts over the past three months.

Hayes raised $371,000 and spent $260,000. Less than half of her individual contributions come from PACs. She got money from individuals as well as from national and local political committees like EMILY’s List, the DCCC and the Sharon Democratic Town Committee. She also made a transfer of $6,000 to the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee. Hayes has about $1.2 million left for the remainder of the campaign.

Shea, meanwhile, raised about $129,000 and spent $224,000 during that same time period. He’s received a number of small-dollar donations from around the state but has also been able to secure much larger contributions, such as one from Old Lyme businessman John David Kelsey. Some of that fundraising also comes through his joint fundraising committee, which allows candidate committees, PACs and political parties to raise money together.

His campaign spent on mailers, texting, digital advertising and campaign apparel and signs. He also made a political donation to the Connecticut Republican State Central Committee. Shea has $145,000 cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

Shea is a North Haven firefighter and retired Navy SEAL. He founded the nonprofit Hero to Hero, which encourages military veterans to consider a second career as first responders.

Because he faced a primary, Shea had to file separate reports: a pre-primary report that covered July 1 through July 22 and another one that ran through Sept. 30.

Hayes and Shea squared off last week in the only debate of the 5th District campaign. They shared contrasting views on Trump administration policies, immigration and the war in Iran.