Of the $1,432,752 contributed by individuals to Republican Peter Schiff’s U.S. Senate bid in 2009, the overwhelming majority came from folks who live outside the state.
In fact, Schiff received donations from only about 70 Connecticut residents. That’s a better than the five denizens of the Nutmeg State who donated to Chris Dodd’s campaign in the first four months of 2009 (Dodd has, of course, since left the race, largely due to eroding support from the citizens of this state.)
And the fact that Schiff drew most of his money from Texas, California and New York isn’t surprising, considering the broker, pundit and author from Weston has a national following, thanks to his frequent TV appearances.
“It shows that this is a huge movement which is national,” said Len Greene Jr., the campaign’s political director. “The economic issues of the day demand a different type of politician…Obviously his following started out nationwide. The local following will come as we progress through the campaign.”
Schiff has tapped that national network of support by launching several “money bombs,” one-day online fundraising blitzes.
Whether they live in Cos Cob or Chicago, many of Schiff’s donors work in the financial industry. But he also received contributions from an auto repair technician from South Windsor, a student from Fairfield, a naval officer from New London and a waiter from West Hartford.
Schiff’s end-of-the-year filing with the Federal Election Committee also shows that he lent his campaign $50,000.
He spent $398,369 on campaign expenses in 2009, with most of that money going to consultants, web designers and polling.
Schiff’s filing indicates that he relied exclusively on consultants and freelancers — as opposed to paid staff — in 2009. Because of that, he did not pay employment taxes or contribute to health insurance costs for those working on the campaign.
But that was before the campaign had set up a payroll service, Greene said. Schiff now has four staffers on the payroll, including Greene.
However the campaign is still not providing health care coverage, Greene confirmed. “That was just a policy decision that was made.”