Sara Gideon, the Democratic senate candidate running to challenge Susan Collins (R., Maine), on Tuesday night attended a fundraiser hosted by a Colorado millionaire who once compared the 2019 government shutdown to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Gideon, the Democratic Party establishment's preferred candidate, attended a fundraiser Tuesday night at the vacation rental home of Anne and Sandy Butterfield, who often vacation in Maine during the summer. The rental in Prouts Neck, a "tranquil, old-moneyed community," is currently on the market for $6,000 per week and has 6 bedrooms.
When the Butterfields aren't vacationing in Maine, they are full-time residents of Boulder, Colorado, where they live in an estimated $1.4 million home. The Washington Free Beacon obtained their voting records and both have been voting in Colorado since the mid-90's and are registered Democrats in the state. In addition to donating almost $50,000 to national Democrats since 2004, the couple attended a 2012 fundraiser for then-representative Jared Polis (D., Colo.) which featured Nancy Pelosi.
Mr. Butterfield is the president of Boulder Wind Consulting and the chairman of IECRE Renewable Energy Conformity Assessment System, according to his Linkedin profile. His wife is a board member of WildEarth Guardians and was a former member of the editorial advisory board of Boulder Daily Camera. She was also a contributor to the Huffington Post, according to Linkedin.
During her free time, Anne Butterfield posts vulgar attacks against Republicans and President Donald Trump on social media, including several conspiracy theories. On Twitter, she called former National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch a "whore of hell" and said she "will spurt blue flames when she burns." She also called Trump a "slut" for changing his position on meeting with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani and said, "F—k Dump & his grubby, dumb short-fingered mangling of our nation."
Butterfield also floated conspiracies about Republicans being blackmailed by Russia. In a July 2018 post, she questioned whether Russia gave Trump "material usable for blackmail against GOP Congressmen" and asked whether "elected GOP leaders are under hidden pressure like, for example, blackmail? "
Another post from December 2018 suggested Trump was involved in sex trafficking. "Trump was probably also involved in sex trafficking," Butterfield wrote. "Even if he didn't actively 'do' any trafficking deals... he could still be FRAMED for it. By the Russians, duh."
Earlier this year, she compared the government shutdown to the September 11th terrorist attacks, saying it was "like 9/11 but in slow motion- a true attack on our nation by the POTUS." She continued, "If Pelosi gives in to any of his scam offers, she will have taught him how to attack our nation over and over."
It is unclear how much the fundraiser cost for attendees, but the host committee included some wealthy Maine Democrats, including Daniel Zilkha, founder and CEO of Sabre Yachts. Zilkha, who attended Harvard, Princeton, and elite boarding schools in Europe, donated thousands of dollars to Obama and Sen. Angus King (I., Maine), who caucuses with Senate Democrats.