Levy Hedges. Uses Most Campaign Donations to Pay Loan to Herself.

U.S. Senate hopeful Leora Levy has used most of the campaign contributions she has received to reduce her $750,000 loan to the campaign. Levy’s pre-nominating convention campaign finance report shows the Greenwich Republican has raised $338,000 in contributions. She’s used $250,000 to reduce her loan to the campaign to $500,000.

Candidates Themis Klarides and Peter Lumaj each have about the same amount of cash on hand. Klarides has $392,000 on April 17th, the end of the reporting period. The former state legislator had an outstanding loan of $40,000 to her campaign. Lumaj, a Fairfield Republican making his fourth bid for statewide office, has provided his campaign with $250,000 and reported $447,000 in the bank 11 days ago. Levy reported $450,000 on hand after the repayment to herself.

The race to be their party’s underdog challenger to Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal has reached the pre-convention guerrilla stage. A helpful Daily Ructions reader pointed out that Levy and her husband were contributors to Richard Blumenthal’s 1998 campaign. Expect more of that in the next week—and keep checking Daily Ructions.

Published April 28, 2022.