Diane Farrell, Westport's former first selectwoman in her second run against the Fourth Congressional District's U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, has almost matched the fund-raising efforts of her Republican adversary by raising almost $780,000 in the last quarter.

According to a Farrell for Congress press release, her campaign has set a record for the most funds collected in one quarter by collecting $787,737. From April through June 5, 106 supporters gave a total of $631,873, while 4,312 constituents contributed $100 or less, the release states.

"Their donations are a clear and potent indication of how much the people of the Fourth District want change," Farrell said in the statement. "Their contributions speak loudly about how the people of this district view the policies of the Bush administration -- especially the Bush policies in Iraq -- and my opponent's support for them."

Of the total amount, $326,459 came from the Fourth District, which comprises 17 towns from Greenwich to Bridgeport, as far inland as Oxford. The rest of the funds, or 60 percent, came from other parts of the state and country, some as far away as the nation's capitol and California, according to filings with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

Farrell's campaign has raised nearly $1.9 million since August 2005, with almost $1.4 million on hand, the release states. At this time during her 2004 unsuccessful run against Shays, she had only half that amount.

According to FEC filings, Shays, who is in his eighth term, raised almost $520,000 during the last quarter, and has $1.5 million on hand.

Others Join Race

In the past week, two Connecticut residents have thrown their hats into the ring for Shays' seat.

Phil Maymin, a 31-year-old hedge fund manager from Greenwich, is close to garnering the 2,909 signatures needed to run as a Libertarian, while the state's Green Party has chosen Stamford's Richard Duffee, a 57-year-old poet and writer, to run for the elected position.

In a recent press release, Maymin said he wants to see an end to minimum-wage requirements, claiming the law requires employers to hire fewer workers and deprive others of jobs.

"Apparently, the officials of the two-party system [Shays and Farrell] want to keep people poor and unemployed," he said. "That way, they have a huge number of people willing to vote for whoever promises them the most grants."

On his Web site, Duffee says the U.S. government has too much power over other countries and needs to be stopped from "acting as a rogue state" and "ruling the world.

"For the majority of people on earth, the basic problem with the U.S. is that the U.S. executive branch has more power over other countries than those countries' own elected politicians have," he said.

In a recent statement condemning the Hamas and Hezbollah attacks on Israel, Shays, the chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security, Emerging Threat and International Relations, said, however, the U.S. needs to step up its support of Israel.

"The United States must play a more active role to stem the violence; we are not impartial observers, we are Israel's ally," he said.

In addition, Shays is one of 26 moderate Republicans asking House Majority Leader John Boehner for a vote on increasing the minimum wage to $7.15 before the August recess, saying it will give people "more of an incentive to work."