Political operatives inside Josh Elliott’s August 11 primary challenge of Governor Ned Lamont must be feeling a level of trepidation after the public grant application to secure $3.75 million to wage battle against a well-financed incumbent was delayed because qualifying contributions came up short.
By the time the campaign receives the loot, presuming the grant is approved next week, it will be about four weeks from the primary.
Campaigns are about dear ol’ MOM – money, organization, message, as well as now, for camp Elliott, anticipation.
MOMA we need you.
Many things are put on hold when you don’t have the money to pay people and entities -television, digital, mail plan. For some paid campaign workers a leap of faith the moolah arrives.
If the money arrives, the spend, essentially a three-week fast blast because most of the dough is committed to hit a week before the primary.
And if the money doesn’t arrive – ciao, sayonara, bye bye.
Approval of Democratic gubernatorial challenger Josh Elliott’s application for public financing was delayed by at least a week Wednesday after a review by the State Elections Enforcement Commission found him slightly shy of the $335,500 needed to qualify for a $3.75 million grant.
Elliott filed his application for funding under the Citizens’ Election Program on June 12, reporting he had raised $335,500 in small-dollar donations, plus approximately $38,000 extra as a buffer against some contributions inevitably being deemed ineligible.
Every contribution must come with paperwork attesting to its source. State contractors are barred. Most of the money must come from in-state donors, who can give between $5 and $340.
On Wednesday, the elections commission was informed by staff that their review found Elliott’s validated contributions came to $333,507 — just $1,993 short of the magic number. Including the buffer, his total contributions were $371,161. Sending back applicants to raise more money is relatively common.
Elliott’s campaign had no immediate comment.
The impact is a likely delay in Elliott airing the commercials he has recorded to make the case against Gov. Ned Lamont securing the Democratic nomination for a third term in a primary on Aug. 11. Lamont already is airing the first of the two commercials he has recorded.
The elections commission’s next scheduled meeting is July 9. The final deadline to qualify for a primary grant is July 17.
The Citizens’ Election Program is voluntary. Participants must agree to strict spending limits and demonstrate significant support by raising the qualifying contributions.
For a qualified major-party gubernatorial candidate, the CEP pays grants of $3.75 million for a primary and $18 million for the general election.
Lamont has opted out of the program — as he has in his previous runs for governor — and is funding his campaign by his own wealth and contributions.
Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, the Republican nominee, has qualified for public financing.
CT Mirror reporter Andrew Brown contributed to this story.
This article first appeared on CT Mirror and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
As a huge unpaid supporter of Elliot, with no inside knowledge, I admit that seeing this delay and waiting on next week is frustrating, but I also understand exactly how this system works.
Let’s be entirely clear about where things stand heading into next week. We are likely dealing with minor routine administrative adjustments. Certain contributions have been temporarily set aside due to initial technical defects. This why campaigns always build a healthy cushion into its fundraising goals. It anticipates these kinds issues, although honestly I am a little surprised about how the entire cushion and an additional $1900 and change shortfall was found defective.
Having served as a treasurer in a statewide CEP campaign for the late, great Jack Hennessy, I know all too well the technicalities that naturally arise when processing contributions. In Jack’s campaign, I as a 1st time treasurer (with a good head for finance and rules) faced similar hurdles. I had to systematically correct several minor defects to protect our eligibility and secure our funding. Some of the compliance issues were as follows
Mismatched business mailing addresses instead of residential ones.
Contributors listing “Self-Employed” as an occupation without specifying their exact trade or business. (The most prevalent and easiest fix if you could get people right away)
Child or family donations using joint checks that weren’t properly recorded on the disclosure forms.
A few others that I don’t recall. That was a small state rep campaign. I could imagine any potential issue is multiplied.
I had to go back, do the compliance work, and correct every single one of those items. I did so successfully because the CEP process allows campaigns to cure defects before final certification. A real pain in the butt, understandable when dealing with taxpayer dollars.
However, I being the cynic I am: SEEC is a five-member agency whose members afe split among legislative leaders and the Governor. Therefore may be scrutinizing Josh’s filings much closer than normal. No matter I am sure that it will be cured at next weeks meeting. The validation process is simply to ensure every single dollar is accurately accounted for properly.
Navigating the SEEC and CEP rules means constantly learning, adapting, and rebounding from delay.
Elliot’s team is doing the heavy lifting of compliance right now. Until then his voluntary army remain working to get Josh elected, by knocking doors, making calls, writing op-eds, or posting on social media. The real work is on the doors and personal interactions. The money part helps spread the message further, faster and is helpful in battling the massive PR team at the incumbents disposal. Would it be better to have it hand now absolutely. Is it a fatal blow? Nah, team Elliott, we got this.
Ok. Rant over. Vote Josh Elliott on or before Aug 11.
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Not slowing down!