(This story has been corrected and updated.) As they enter Round 2 of the race for mayor, candidates Justin Elicker and Toni Harp have been raising money at roughly equal rates.
Elicker, who’s running as a petitioning candidate for mayor after losing a four-way Democratic primary on Sept. 10, faces an uphill challenge against Democrat-endorsed candidate Harp in a Nov. 5 general election.
In the 24 days after the primary, Elicker raised $85,000 from 454 donors, according to a press release his campaign sent out on Monday afternoon. Including money raised in the week before the primary, the Elicker campaign took in $100,353.21.
During the same period, Harp raised “just under $104,000,” according to campaign spokesman Patrick Scully. He said that includes money from individuals as well as committees.
The full details of how much money Elicker and Harp collected and from whom will be revealed Thursday, when candidates are required to file campaign finance forms with the city/town clerk. Click here and here for analysis of previous campaign filings.
Harp raised at total of $287,413 before the primary. Elicker raised $170,000.
During the primary campaign, Elicker participated in the Democracy Fund, the city’s public campaign financing program. He received public grants and matching funds in exchange for taking only contributions of $370 or less and not taking money from committees. Elicker can’t receive public money in the general election, but he has vowed to voluntarily abide by the fund’s requirements.
Harp is not participating in the Democracy Fund, and can take donations of up to $1,000 and money from special interests.
Throughout his campaign, Elicker has raised most of his money from New Haveners. Of the 454 donors who gave to his campaign in the most recent fundraising period, 89 percent live in New Haven, according to his campaign.
“To me what is significant about it is that we don’t have Democracy Fund matching dollars and we’re still doing quite well,” Elicker said.
Scully said the Harp campaign is happy to have topped $100,000. “We’re obviously extremely pleased with that number. It shows great momentum,” he said. “We’ve been concentrating not so much on fundraising but on policy, whereas the Elicker campaign seems obsessed with fundraising.”
During general election campaign, candidates can take in money from donors who already gave maximum donations during the primary campaign. Harp, for instance, can collect up to another $1,000 from someone who gave her campaign $1,000 during the primary. Elicker said he is resetting the clock on his donors as well, and accepting contributions from donors who may have given him $370 in the primary.