CT-Gov: Fundraising reports covering the period of July 1 to Sept. 30 are in, but Connecticut's complicated campaign finance system makes it tough to make an apples-to-apples comparison.
As CT Mirror's Mark Pazniokas explains, most contenders are trying to qualify for the state's public financing program, which would give them a budget of $1.6 million. However, to quality, candidates need to raise $250,000 in $100 donations, which is a tough task. To make things even more confusing, campaign exploratory committees can accept donations of up to $375, so not all the money raised can be used to qualify for the public financing program. Anyone who qualifies only gets their $1.6 million after the May party conventions, so they also need to make sure they have enough money to stay in the race until then.
We'll start with a look at the Democrats. Most people raising money are still only officially exploring a bid, because exploratory mode confers certain fundraising advantages that are lost once one becomes an official candidate. So far, Middletown Mayor Dan Drew is the only Democrat who has announced a bid. Drew may have been hoping that by diving in before anyone else, he could jumpstart his fundraising, but it doesn't seem to be working out. Drew only raised $54,000 for the quarter, and he had only $20,000 on-hand at the end of September, which is less than anyone in either party.
Among Democrats who are officially exploring, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim raised the most during the quarter, taking in $110,000. Ganim had $88,000 in the bank, which is more than any other Democrat. However, Ganim may not be able to get public financing no matter what he raises. Ganim went to prison for seven years for corruption earlier in the decade before he won back his seat in 2015, and state law prohibits felons from qualifying for the public finance system. Ganim is currently suing the state to overturn the law.
Former federal prosecutor Chris Mattei raised $105,000 for the quarter and had $73,000 on-hand, while ex-Consumer Protection head Jonathan Harris raised $82,000 and had $46,000 to spend. Dita Bhargava, a former state party vice chair, began raising money only a few weeks before the reporting deadline, and she took in $53,000 and had $46,000 on-hand. In October, former Commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs Sean Connolly also entered the race.
However, there's still one big Democratic name out. Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said in May that she'd consider after the state budget was done… but that's taking a lot longer than expected. Legislative leaders have been working on a bipartisan proposal without input from outgoing Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy, but it's far from clear how long it will take for this messy process to resolve itself. It's very possible that Democratic donors are waiting to hear from Wyman before opening up their wallets, and even a few Democrats have said they won't run if she does.
We'll turn to the GOP, which is optimistic that Malloy's horrible poll numbers and Connecticut's financial struggles will give them a big opening next year. Hedge fund manager David Stemerman decided to skip exploratory mode and dive right in, and he quickly threw down $1.8 million of his own money: Safe to say, he's not bothering with public financing. Former business executive Bob Stefanowski raised $65,000 from donors and self-funded another $250,000.
State Rep. Prasad Srinivasan brought in $50,000 for the quarter, and he says he's already raised the required $250,000 in small donations he needs to qualify for public financing. Srinivasan had $222,000 on-hand, more than all but the two self-funding GOP contenders.
Other Republicans look like they're on their way to qualifying, though again, it's tough to tell who is raising the right amount of money in the necessary small amounts. Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti raised $85,000 for the quarter and had $157,000 on-hand. Attorney Peter Lumaj, who is officially in exploratory mode, raised $92,000 for the period and had $130,000 on-hand, while businessman Steve Obsitnik, who recently announced he was officially running, raised $66,000 and had $110,000 to spend.
Michael Handler, who served as Stamford's director of administration, raised $117,000 during his inaugural quarter (Handler skipped exploratory mode and dove right in) and had about $100,000 in the bank. Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker announced he was switching from exploring to running over the summer; Walker raised $118,000, and rolled over another $45,000 from his old exploratory committee, to have just shy of $100,000 on-hand.
A few other Republicans are a bit further back. Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, another declared candidate, fell just short of raising $50,000, and he had $78,000 on-hand. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who is exploring a bid, brought in only $34,000 and had $89,000 in the bank, though he had brain surgery during the quarter. State Sen. Toni Boucher, who is also exploring, took in $43,000 and had $38,000 left.