Drew Raised $97,970 in Mayor's Race

out-financed former by nearly $30,000 in the .

Final campaign finance figures for the three mayoral candidates show that Drew, a Democrat, raised a total of $97,970, while Giuliano, the three-term Republican incumbent, raised $68,052. Petitioning candidate , also a Democrat, raised $3,840.

The figures, contained in finance reports the state required all campaigns to file by Jan. 10, also show that while Giuliano and Drew finished their campaigns in the black, Bourne’s campaign is still about $1,000 in debt.

Bourne on Tuesday said her supporters are planning an additional fundraiser for later this month to pay off the money her campaign still owes.

, besting him on a vote of 4,971 to 4316. Bourne garnered just 172 votes.

This was the second time Drew had challenged Giuliano, narrowly losing to the Republican in the last election.

The 2011 matchup between the two major party candidates was a closely watched race by party leaders across the state on both sides of the political aisle and the money raised by both candidates was a reflection of how important the race was here and outside the city.

The amount of money raised by the two main candidates is significantly higher than what the two candidates raised in the last mayor's election, when Drew raised about $20,000 in campaign donations and Giuliano raised more than $30,000.

Their campaign donations in last year’s election also reflect the high level of interest in the race outside of the city. Drew received numerous donations, ranging from between $100 to $500 each, from Democratic groups from around the state, such as the Connecticut Young Democrats, the Working Families political action group, as well as labor unions.

Giuliano got financial backing from local Republicans as well as from well-connected ones, including $1,000 each from U.S. Senate hopeful Linda McMahon and Greenwich millionaire Tom Foley, who lost his gubernatorial bid to Dannel P. Malloy in 2010.

The campaign finance reports, Bourne said, also indicate how difficult it is for a petitioning, or third-party, candidate to compete in the juggernaut of the two-party system.

“It certainly makes it more difficult, when you don’t have a party backing you, to raise money for your campaign,” she said. “It’s easier for them to raise money.”

And the largesse Giuliano and Drew were able to marshal, she added, also made it difficult for her to mount an effective campaign against the two.

“They did multiple flyers and robo-calls and paid campaign workers. Dan Drew had the . I had all of my lawn signs stolen.”

According to their finance reports, Drew’s campaign spent $96,641 and still has $1,329 left over. Giuliano’s campaign spent $66,344 and had $1,708 on hand at the end of the finance reporting period. The campaign has since closed out its ledger and donated those funds to Middletown’s Republican Town Committee, the reports state.

Bourne’s report indicates that her campaign has $29.60, but still has unpaid expenses of $1,000.

Drew said his ability to financially outpace Giuliano did not cinch the election for him. He said he waged an aggressive door-to-door campaign that didn’t rely as much on finances. But he acknowledged that having a healthy war chest gave him the time and resources to spend going door to door.

“I think the thing that matters most in a campaign is reaching out to people one on one and connecting with them. When you have resources, you can get your message across,” Drew said.

Giuliano could not be reached for comment.

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