Today’s 5 p.m. deadline to apply for public campaign funds has come and gone for candidates waging primary battles for statewide offices.
Officials for the State Elections Enforcement Commission confirmed that Secretary of the State candidate Gerry Garcia filed his application Friday.
Garcia, a former New Haven alderman, was one of a few candidates seeking donations right up until Friday’s deadline. Late Thursday afternoon, the Garcia campaign sent an email blast to its supporters saying the campaign was $3,000 away from the $75,000 threshold it needs to leverage $375,000 in public funds.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission will meet Wednesday, July 21 to approve or deny applications.
Garcia’s opponent, Majority Leader Denise Merrill, applied for the grant on July 1 and already has received the $375,000 in state funds.
Also filing on the last day were lieutenant governor candidate Mary Glassman and state comptroller candidate Kevin Lembo. Glassman’s opponent, Nancy Wyman, already qualified for the $375,000 in public funds, along with Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura, who is running against Lembo in the Democratic primary.
George Jepsen, the lone Democratic candidate for attorney general, also filed his application even though he doesn’t have a primary. Jepsen’s application was approved last week by the commission. Jepsen is the only candidate for attorney general participating in the program.
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton’s joint application to the commission was approved more than a week ago. The approval of the application filed with Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele’s campaign for governor is being challenged in court by Republican frontrunner Tom Foley.
The state Supreme Court will hear argument about a lower court decision to allow Fedele and Boughton to keep the supplemental grant triggered by Foley’s spending in the campaign.
It’s unclear how this week’s U.S. Second Circuit Court decision banning these trigger provisions — which it said impedes the free speech of the wealthier candidates — will play out when briefs on that decision are filed in the state Supreme Court.
The state Supreme Court has asked lawyers involved in the Foley v. SEEC lawsuit to file briefs on the U.S. Second Circuit Court decision. Foley is challenging a lower court’s decision to deny his injunction and stop the transfer of supplemental funds to one of his opponents.
In addition to Fedele, Democrat Dan Malloy also qualified for the program and has already received the $2.5 million for use in his gubernatorial campaign.