Harry Arora, a Republican and first-generation American, announced last week that he is running for Congress in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District.
Arora has been in the investment management business for 15 years. In 2006, he left his prior employer, Amaranth Advisors, after alerting them to concentration risk. Six months later, according to a release from his campaign, his prediction came true, with the fund posting large losses, causing it to close. His effort to save that fund is documented in the book Hedge Hogs.
Arora, who filed his candidacy paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission on Dec. 27, 2017, raised $606,528 from more than 70 donors between the filing date and Dec. 31, according to a press release, with all of it still on hand as of year’s end. The Arora campaign reported that the candidate contributed $500,000 of personal funds and raised the remaining $106,528 in just five days.
According to a release, “this places Arora in a stronger financial position than any Republican to challenge incumbent Jim Himes since he first took office in 2008.”
“Over the next few months, we are going to put forward ideas and policies to address our challenging problems — a failing Connecticut economy, unaffordable health care, stagnating property prices and a crumbling transportation system,” Arora said in a press release. “The citizens of this district and this state want solutions to these problems and these citizens are offering me tremendous support. We will raise both the quality and intensity of the dialogue in the coming months. We will question, suggest and respectfully debate. This campaign is not just about sound-bites, this campaign is about substance.”
According to Arora’s campaign, “donors like the fact that he is committing a significant amount of his money to jump-start the campaign.” Arora said in a press release that this has encouraged the Republican donor community in Fairfield County to contribute to his campaign.
Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, according to Arora’s campaign, sits on $2.2 million in cash. “However, like Himes Arora is also from the investment industry and has the ability to raise money to match Himes,” according to a press release. “He is the first investment manager in Fairfield County to run for Congress, which gives him access to capable donors.”
Arora said the congressional incumbent has done nothing to help Connecticut’s economy, which he said has been badly damaged by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
“Instead of focusing on creating opportunity, we have focused on squeezing businesses,” Arora said. “Dan Malloy’s income tax increase in 2011 marked the beginning of our decline. Yet, with every economy-killing tax increase, Jim Himes was silent. Whether you like Jim Himes or not, that’s a problem.”
Arora, 48, took a sabbatical from his business to obtain a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School. He is a partner at Northlander, a European energy-focused hedge fund, which he co-founded in 2012.
He and his wife, Nisha, reside in Greenwich and have three school-aged children. The Aroras are active with several nonprofit organizations in Fairfield County.
More information can be found at harryforct.com.