The 2018 gubernatorial campaign of Bridgeport resident David Walker announced on Tuesday the former U.S. comptroller general has raised roughly $277,000 in contributions of $100 and less in his quest to qualify for the state’s Citizens Election Program of publicly funded races. Under the program candidates must raise small dollar amounts of $250,000 to qualify for a public grant.
“Passing this key fundraising milestone so soon is a recognition of the momentum our campaign has and that voters around the state recognize that I have the right experience to lead the Connecticut Turnaround,” Walker said in a statement. “With my experience re-organizing and turning around large, complicated government and private sector entities, I won’t be learning on the job. I will put together a turnaround team that will revitalize our State.”
The Walker campaign has received contributions from across Connecticut as well as from 47 states, districts and territories.
Walker’s part of a large field of Republican candidates that include Mayors Mark Boughton in Danbury, Mark Lauretti in Shelton and former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst. In lieu of the party endorsement he’ll need 15 percent delegate support at the state party convention in May to wage an August primary. Shortly after the convention the State Elections Enforcement Commission will parcel out public grants to qualifying candidates in a labor-intensive fundraising process. For a primary, it means roughly $1.4 million to spend. The respective party nominees will receive approximately $6.5 million for the general election.
The Walker camp will continue to raise additional contributions from Connecticut residents to achieve a cushion for its state elections grant application and have adequate funds to conduct an effective delegate outreach and convention effort.
Great job Dave!
David Walker did a very good job just like his last campaign for elective office in fund raising. Now hopefully he can find the time to get his message out to listen to voters about their issues and concerns and also to tell us why he should be governor instead of telling us everything that is wrong but to tell us what he’s going to do and how much it will cost and how he plans to pay for it.
State workers retire with pensions.
Robots retire with rust.
Cutting Federal taxes is expensive. Reducing or eliminating Connecticut’s fixed expenses doesn’t cost a penny.
Robots would be a self-liquidating loan.
Because borrowed money always means spending tomorrow’s earnings today, it will be
difficultimpossible for Connecticut to invest in the future before eliminating its debt.That’s how desperate things are.
Could very easily win. But won’t.
He will run a campaing saying he can get along with the democrats,cross the aisle and work together. Meanwhile the the dems will call him every name in the book. Just like John McCain.
Barry, Dave Walker can’t even go across town in Bridgeport where he lives to listen and to talk to voters in Bridgeport.
He did. To republicans, because he’s in a Republican Primary. He’s also spoken to numerous groups across town, at their invitation.
Jennifer Buchanan, you’re great, I respect your loyalty to Dave Walker even though that I don’t agrre with you.
Jennifer, did you see that picture of the Republican House and Senate members along with 45, Mike Pence and other staff member lined up for their celebration of the GOP tax cuts at the Capital? There were over 290 Republicans and you saw only ONE black person, Senator Tim Scott from South Carolina in that sea of white males, well, that’s the Republican Party and that’s the same blacks in Bridgeport and blacks in Connecticut see Republican David Walker. I truly hope that whoever is the Republican nominee for governor that 45 comes to Connecticut to campaign for them.
I follow Tim Scott on twitter, when people pointed out the Photo you’re referring to, calling him out asking why he was front and center, the lone black republican in a sea of white men, this was his response on Twitter.
“Uh probably because I helped write the bill for the past year, have multiple provisions included, got multiple Senators on board over the last week and have worked on tax reform my entire time in Congress. But if you’d rather just see my skin color, pls feel free.”
Nothing wrong with the Republican Party that a lot more diversity won’t fix. A lot more.
As much as I always wish the best for you, and want you to have what you hope for, I’m not supporting your hope in 45 campaigning in CT for any republican. But I did laugh out loud when I read what you hoped for. So are you saying you think that’s the only thing that might possibly defeat Walker? Much like Mr. Day has pointed out in election cycles, a Republican is favored to win the CT Governor seat next election. A Bridgeport ally would be a good thing!
Jennifer, Connecticut is going to see the same type of enthusiasm and turnout and ground game that happen in Alabama, Virginia and New Jersey where the black female voters came out in record numbers to vote for their concerns and issues and they know that 45 and the Republican Party is not the answer because they can’t find the or the interest to sit down with black voters and to listen and to hear their concerns. Jennifer I’ve preaching this story to you and Dave Walker for years but nothing has changed. I’ve been giving you good advice on how to win by doing outreach to the black community starting with C4BB and the response that I get is more me to help out, really, I’m helping out just by saying what I’m saying. The Republican Party has NO interest in black voters and black people and Tim Scott in that picture speaks for it’s self.
Ron, Voices of Women of Color in Hartford sought out Walker and he spoke at their meeting. You’re right that groups like this are interested, engaged and involved. You’re absolutely wrong when you say Republicans don’t care about or want the black vote. Walker has been invited to and spoken with and at many minority events in Bridgeport and state wide. Granted he’s not doing it fast enough, often enough or at the places on your list or at your pace. He’s one of the more empathetic and approachable humans I know, and his constant message is always he just wants everyone to have the opportunity to succeed. He speaks a truth you don’t like, benefits reform and restructuring for public employees. Understandable from your point of view. He’s listening to your advice, and will work to make inroads to and with every voter willing to engage.
Jennifer, I’m only talking about black females and not some blacks in a meeting but just black women,we are no different than any other groups, we expect and demand that we are taking seriously and not doing a drive in October just before the election and saying hi on Sunday morning before the election, they have time to visit white groups then they visit blacks.
Jennifer,
The GOP is the party of white men. When Donald Trump was elected the white nationalists, neo Confederates and Ku Klux Klan sympathisizers came out of the woodwork. David Duke went to Charlottsville to proclaim “We are here to fulfill the promises of Donald Trump!” That’s the face of the national Republican Party, a bunch of bigots marching to protest the removal of a statue of Robert E. Lee from a public park. Donald Trump, the party’s leader and figurehead, is well known for his intolerance of blacks and latinos and anyone else whose skin is not lilly white.
David Walker is appealing to white suburban voters, not those living in urban centers like Bridgeport, New Haven and Waterbury. If he has addressed the African-American communities in Connecticut it has not been publicized. Why not, is he afraid of offending the DAR or the Junior League? Gots to keep those suburban white ladies happy…
No one is obligated to look up David Walker on Google or any other search engine. If he’s not getting his message out there must be a problem.
You’re correct Derick, it’s far more effective to remain ignorant of facts and spread unfavorable conjecture than to become an informed voter.
Kid, paint the National Republican Party with that broad negative brush all you want. Walker has the meeting on his Facebook page, his web site and his Twitter feed. Perhaps ask why CT news outlets chose not to publish the shared information when Republicans reach out to minority voters. Google is your friend, you’ll be hard pressed to find any source in Walkers long public history that supports your assumptions that Walker panders to any group to keep them happy.
The brush may havea briad brush but it is still accurate. Donald Trump has shown himself to be supremely unqualified to lead a horse to water let alone the United States of America but 81% of the Republican Party still supports him. As he is the current occupant of the White House Donald Trump is the head and public face of the party. Oh, and let’s not forget Roy Moore, the chicken hawk and disgraced former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Trump, a man with his own history of playing grab ass with every pretty woman that had the misfortune of crossing his path, endorsed Moore for the Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions. And then there was Charlottesville. The party leaders were a little slow to denounce the angry white hotdes that assembled down there. When they finally did the denunciations were a little tepid.
If Mr. Walker has anything to say regarding race relations in the Constitution State he needs to spend ome of that pretty green campaign money to advertise. So far he hasn’t got much in the way of ptess coverage, positive ir negative. His media profile is nonexistent.
By the way, the Trump administration is the most caucasian since Ronald Reagan’s. As it stands now the public perception of the GOP is that it is the party of wealthy white men with no tolerance of minorities and disdain for the middle class.
Democrats take black voters for granted and the Republicans don’t care anything about blacks and they have no problem in letting blacks know that they don’t care. What’s sad is poor whites are in the same boat as blacks but they think because they are white that the system will look after them because they are white. This tax cut is not being paid for and it will put the country in crisis where the only way to get out of that debt is to go after Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, welfare and health care. That has always been the plan since blacks, Hispanics, women started voting in large numbers that the white Republican power knew that they had to take their country back from those who are not white males land owners.
Donald Trump promised his trailer park minions that he would “bring back jobs.” Carrier Air conditioners is moving out of the country. So is the steel industry. Thanks, Donald.
He promised to build a wall and make the government of Mexico pay for it. Another broken promise.
He promised to make great deals to improve healthcare for his millions of ignorant followers. With the stroke of a pen he made it possible to gut ACA, Medicaid and Medicare. Thanks, Donald. I’m sure the tobacco chewing rednecks that voted for you, the ones living in Toad Suck, Alabama, Horse Apple, Kentucky, and other meccas of high culture think it won’t effect them because they voted for you.
Trump is not going to make it to the end of one term. The Democratic Party will retake both chambers of Congress next November. Let the impeachment proceedings begin!
At the National level I’ll pretty much agree with you Ron with both parties, here’s hoping leadership in both parties fix their mistakes.
Jennifer, the Republican Party on every level are deeply involve with voter suppression, in fact 45 has a commission on voter suppression but it has nothing to do with helping people of color to vote.
The GOP has been involved in gerrymandering and voter supression on a massive scale, for years. Thank God for the federal court system. It is the NATIONAL party that know, the party of Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, the Tea Party, the Freedom Caucus, David Duke, and intolerance of minorities and the poor.