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Both John Larson and Luke Bronin criticize big money in elections — while benefiting from it.During a contentious Democratic primary race, U.S.John Larson and his top challenger in the 1st Congressional District, ex-Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, have both positioned themselves against big money in politics.Bronin has pledged not to accept money from corporate political action committees and proposed a constitutional amendment to reduce corporate spending in elections.Larson boasts that he cosponsored federal legislation to reform campaign finance laws, and he has recently slammed Bronin for receiving financial support from billionaires.Advertisement Article continues below this ad And yet both Democrats have played the big-money fundraising game in one way or another, Federal Election Commission filings show.Larson’s campaign, for example, has criticized Bronin for accepting $10,500 in campaign contributions from Clifford Asness, a Greenwich-based hedge fund manager and antagonist of organized labor who typically gives to conservative candidates and causes.This week, Larson campaign spokesperson Bee Ungar noted Bronin “had no problem accepting a triple-maximum donation from a Republican mega-donor” who seeks to “keep MAGA in power.” Want more New Haven Register?Election filings, however, show Larson has support from at least one conservative-leaning mega-donor of his own.Private equity CEO Marc Rowan, who has given $7,000 to Larson, has also contributed more than $3 million in the past year to Republican candidates and PACs, along with smaller contributions to a handful of Democrats.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Rowan additionally serves on President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace and has drawn the ire of national unions for what they call “a private political campaign attacking America’s colleges and universities.” His wife has also given to Larson’s campaign, as have at least six other employees of Apollo Global Management, the company Rowan runs.Bronin, when asked about Asness, declined to answer directly, saying only that all his supporters know he “has spent a career fighting for economic fairness.” Asked about Rowan, Ungar responded in an email that “when corporate interests conflict with the needs of the 1st District,” Larson has “always stood with working families.” Neither Asness nor Rowan could be reached for comment.Advertisement Article continues below this ad The race to represent Connecticut’s 1st District has grown increasingly heated in recent months, with Larson drawing support from organized labor and most top elected Democrats and Bronin narrowly winning the party’s formal endorsement at a convention last month.It will culminate Aug.11, when Democratic primary voters choose who advances to the November general election.The two candidates have taken different approaches to big-money fundraising, filings show.Bronin’s campaign has been fueled in part by wealthy contributors, including a liberal hedge fund billionaire active in Connecticut politics, as well as various other CEOs and hedge fund managers.Larson, meanwhile, has accepted dozens of direct corporate contributions, including from Wall Street, Big Pharma, health insurance companies, energy monopolies and more, along with some contributions from wealthy individuals.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Both sides have criticized the other’s approach.“When billionaire investors handpick a candidate and funnel massive amounts of money to their personal and political accounts, they expect a return,” the Larson campaign said in a recent news release.“There’s a huge difference between individuals giving for their own individual reasons and a corporation acting as a corporation through its corporate PAC to help the bottom line,” Bronin said in an interview this week.A third Democrat running in the 1st Congressional District, state Rep.Jillian Gilchrest has joined the debate about campaign finance, criticizing both candidates for accepting contributions she says leave them beholden to corporations and special interests.Advertisement Article continues below this ad “Luke Bronin was quick to come out against John Larson at the beginning because he takes corporate PAC money, and I do find that problematic,” Gilchrest said.“But then he’s taking money from a CEO for a data center, he takes money from GOP donors, he takes money from a billionaire who is supporting various PACs that are supporting corporate moderates.” All in all, Bronin has raised about $2.3 million during the campaign, as of April 21, compared to about $2 million for Larson, about $130,000 for Gilchrest and $63,500 for Ruth Fortune, a Hartford Board of Education member petitioning to qualify for the primary ballot.Larson takes large sums from PACs During the 2025-26 election cycle alone, Larson has raised more than $1 million from PACs, accounting for nearly half his total fundraising.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Though not all of those PACs represent corporate interests, plenty of them do.Committees that have given at least $5,000 to Larson’s campaign include those representing, among others, Eversource, Prudential Financial, Cigna, the American Bankers Association, the American Hospital Association, the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, Ernst & Young and UBS, as well as employees of both RTX and Lockheed Martin.PACs representing other large companies — including Walmart, Travelers, Stanley Black & Decker, H&R Block, Home Deport, New York Life Insurance and more — have contributed to Larson’s campaign as well.Larson’s largest contributor is the PAC representing the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, which has given him more than $40,000 this election cycle — a total that includes contributions from individuals routed through the organization.These contributions from PACs didn’t start during this race.Throughout his nearly three decades in Congress, filings show, Larson has accepted millions from corporate committees, with Lockheed Martin employees and various insurance companies ranking among the top contributors.Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bronin argues this makes Larson the corporate candidate in the primary “I think it undermines voters' trust when somebody who sat on the main tax-writing committee for years and years has taken half of his money from corporate PACs,” Bronin said.Asked about Larson’s years of corporate donations, Ungar, the congressman’s spokesperson, said Larson “has a clear record of fighting for working people that he will put up against anyone.” Bronin, who announced early in his campaign he would not accept money from corporate PACs, has kept that promise to date.But he has taken $5,000 contributions from two committees: Vote Vets, which works to elect veterans, and Crosspartisan PAC, which contributes to both Democratic and Republican candidates.Advertisement Article continues below this ad FEC records also list a $138.15 contribution to Bronin’s campaign from the payroll services platform Gusto, which a Bronin spokesperson said was a result of the company paying back the campaign after overcharging it on its payroll taxes.Gilchrest, meanwhile, has accepted small contributions from the Connecticut Association of Optometrists, the Connecticut Dental PAC and the Radiological Society of Connecticut Federal PAC, which she attributed to her work as a state Bronin fueled by wealthy individual contributors As the Larson campaign argues, turning down money from corporate PACs doesn’t necessarily mean Bronin is free of support from corporate interests.Advertisement Article continues below this ad FEC records show the former Hartford mayor has received 346 contributions this cycle of at least $3,500, the maximum allowable at a time, compared to 105 for Larson.These maximum contributors include, among others, CEOs of MassMutual, Stanley Black & Decker and The Hartford, as well as various private equity and hedge fund executives.In Connecticut, individuals can give congress