Connecticut U.S. Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-02) has taken in less than $500,000 for the 2022 election cycle.
As of the December 31, 2021 deadline, FEC records show that Courtney raised $482,821.54 and has $959,616.55 cash on hand in the bank. Another Democratic candidate for the Second District, U.S. Army Veteran Anthony DiLizia has raised less than $5,000 for the Democrat primary and currently has under $1,000 on hand.
FEC records show that State Representative Mike France (R-Preston) has raised $242,228.61 and has $91,549.10 cash on hand.
Courtney has represented Connecticut’s Second Congressional district since 2007. Prior to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, he served as a Connecticut state representative from 1987 to 1995 and Vernon town attorney from 2003 to 2006. In 2020, Courtney was reelected by more than 20 percentage points. Courtney is 68 years old and was born and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut.
During his tenure in the U.S. House, Courtney opposed the Trump tax cuts, championed gun control, and vocalized his support for Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal. During the Biden administration, he has voted for legislation that requires background checks for all gun sales, creates a pathway to citizenship for illegal aliens, limits presidential authority on immigration restrictions, admits Washington, D.C. as a state, establishes the January 6 commission, expands the debt ceiling, and lets the federal government takeover of elections.
According to FiveThirtyEight, Courtney is a rubber stamp for the Biden administration agenda, voting 100% in line with Biden’s stated position.
France’s website describes him as “a well-known legislator who previously served on the Ledyard Town Council and chaired the Finance Committee. He currently serves as the ranking member of the General Assembly’s Appropriations Committee and is also a member of the General Administration and Elections Committee.” France is also chair of the Connecticut General Assembly Conservative Caucus. The group describes itself as “dedicated to the principles of limited government, economic freedom, and individual liberty.”
The Connecticut Supreme Court selected redistricting maps that did little to change the partisan makeup of CT-2. Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight gives the current Second District the same partisan rating of D+3 that it did prior to redistricting. The Cook Political Report, despite giving the district a partisan rating of D+2, currently gives the race a Solid Democrat rating.
The primaries in Connecticut are scheduled for August 9. The filing deadline for candidates to submit primary petitions is June 7.
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Aaron Gulbransen is a reporter at The Connecticut Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]. Follow Aaron on GETTR.
