GREENWICH – On a hectic pace of four fundraisers in 28 hours, vice presidential candidate Tim Walz rolled into wealthy Fairfield County on Sunday evening and raised $1.8 million from the state’s top Democrats.
Walz headlined the reception with more than 250 people at the Greenwich home of Gov. Ned Lamont, who has developed a personal friendship with Walz due to their work as fellow governors.
Lamont announced the totals to the crowd that had gathered under a large tent that was attached to the back of his house in an upscale neighborhood.
“I love this guy,” Lamont told the enthusiastic crowd. “Not only does he have the best interests of the country at heart. Not only does he represent the best of American values. He’s a good man and a very good friend, and I can’t wait for the day that Vice President Walz says over to you, Madame President.”
Walz thanked the well-heeled crowd several times for coming out on a Sunday night in the fall to raise money for the campaign as Presidential candidate Kamala Harris and he battle against former President Donald J. Trump and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
“I know this is a preaching-to-the-choir moment, but I’m telling people our recital is in 16 days, and the choir needs to sing and needs to sing now,” Walz said.
Walz told the crowd that multiple candidates will win in Connecticut races as the Democrats have won all U.S. Senate races since 1988 and have held the state’s entire House delegation since Republican Chris Shays lost in 2008. While Connecticut has relatively few Electoral College votes and is not a battleground state, both Democrats and Republicans travel here regularly to collect huge sums of campaign contributions.
“Look, you’re going to win here,” Walz told the crowd. “We know that you do it. And we don’t view this as an ATM, but I do view this as a group of folks who are committed to the rest of the country.”
The money was being collected Sunday night 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. Only a small portion goes directly for the Harris for President campaign. As much as $41,300 then goes to the Democratic National Committee, and then as much as $510,000 per person is split up among state Democratic parties across the nation – hence Walz’s comment about the rest of the country.
The big-ticket event was designed to raise as much money as possible in the race that culminates on November 5. The Harris campaign has already raised $1 billion this year.
Those who contributed or raised $100,000 in Greenwich received the designation as “event chair” and allowed them to have four attendees to have their picture taken with Walz.
An updated invitation said that all price points up to $50,000 were sold out. For $50,000, two attendees could have their picture taken with Walz as hosts. Co-hosts were listed at $25,000, while “champions” paid $10,000 to receive preferred seating for one attendee. Couples could attend the general reception for $5,000, while the lowest price of $1,000 per person had a “limited quantity” that was also sold out, according to the invitation.
Walz acknowledged that U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes was in the crowd after speaking minutes before him. He noted that Hayes was the national teacher of the year, which is a difficult feat to achieve.
“I was a finalist in Minnesota, and was not selected,” Walz said, prompting laughter from the crowd. “I said, ‘Yeah, it proves it’s a hell of a lot harder to be teacher of the year than it is to be governor of Minnesota.’ ”
On a hectic weekend pace, Walz’s schedule said he would wake up Sunday morning in Michigan and head to a church service. He then flew to Boston for an afternoon fundraiser and then flew again to Westchester County Airport before taking a motorcade to nearby Greenwich on Sunday evening.
Television host Joy Behar announced that Walz is scheduled to appear on “The View” on ABC on Monday morning. He is then scheduled to attend fundraising receptions in New York City at lunchtime and in the evening, according to the Harris-Walz campaign.
Friends with Lamont
Like other 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.”
Greenwich 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.
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 Lamont’s home in October 2019, which was reported at more than $450,000. At that time in 2019, Biden was having difficulty gaining support among Democrats and eventually lost in Iowa and New Hampshire before making a major comeback in South Carolina with the backing of longtime U.S. House veteran Jim Clyburn.
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.
Christopher Keating can be reached at [email protected]
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