Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz is scheduled to arrive Sunday in Greenwich for a big-money fundraiser as the presidential race heads into its final two weeks.
Walz, who is personal friends with Gov. Ned Lamont, is running on the national ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris against Republicans Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
The invitation, which was obtained by The Courant, does not state the location or time of the fundraiser and says that will be available only when invitees respond.
The invitation lists 21 members of the host committee, including Lamont, U.S. senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, parking magnate Alan Lazowski, state economic development commissioner Daniel O’Keefe, and former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin. The invitation states there will be “a reception with Governor Tim Walz” and lists various price levels for contributions.
Those who contribute or raise $100,000 will be known as an “event chair” and allows four attendees to have their picture taken with Walz. For $50,000, two attendees can have their picture taken with Walz as hosts.
A couple can attend the general reception for $5,000, while the lowest price of $1,000 per person has a “limited quantity,” according to the invitation.
The money is being collected by the Harris Victory Fund, which is a joint fundraising committee that can accept contributions from individuals up to $926,000 and a political action committee up to $410,000. The money is then split up among various entities, including the Harris for President campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and state parties.
Personal friends
Like others supporters, Lamont says Walz is a highly personable colleague, citing playing golf in Florida at an event with fellow governors.
“I played a round of golf with him and never stopped laughing,” Lamont told reporters in August. “He showed up at the first tee a little more Rodney Dangerfield than Tiger Woods. Hit the ball long, a little left of center, and it was the most fun 18 holes of golf that I’ve ever had.”
During the weekend before Walz was chosen as the vice presidential nominee, Lamont said that he had texted Walz “back and forth,” along with receiving a voicemail from the Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff.
“I just love the guy,” Lamont said of Walz. “Let’s start with somebody who is a really good person who is not in love with himself, but is in love with the country. I think he’s reflected that in his entire career, and whenever you sit down for a Governor’s Association meeting, he’s the guy I always want to sit next to. I learn a lot, and I have some fun.”
Big-dollar fundraisers
While Connecticut has relatively few Electoral College votes, political candidates have historically traveled to the state for major fundraisers, particularly in Fairfield County and Litchfield County.
In early June, Democrats gathered in northwest Greenwich at the nearly 15-acre estate of Richard Plepler, the former chief executive officer of Home Box Office, to see one of the final fundraisers by President Joe Biden before he dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris.
The fundraiser was sold out at various price points, and the tickets were so hot that some attendees were double-checked if they would be arriving so that someone else could be pulled off the waiting list to replace a no-show, Democrats said.
Following past practice, the Biden campaign did not release details on the number of donors or how much was raised at the event. Lamont, though, said organizers had been hoping to “triple or quadruple” the total that was raised at his home in October 2019, which was reported at more than $450,000.
Biden also traveled to Greenwich in June 2023 at the home of Stephen Mandel Jr., a longtime hedge fund manager who founded Lone Pine Capital in 1997. Public records show that Mandel contributed $1 million in 2020 to the Lincoln Project, which is operated by former Republican strategists who helped blocked Trump’s attempt at reelection.
Mandel said at his home that “as Americans, we all owe a big thanks to the president for what he’s done.”
Christopher Keating can be reached at [email protected]
