Lt. Gov. Micheal Fedele says his gubernatorial bid has met the threshold for public campaign finanacing, as has his running mate, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.
Fedele becomes the first GOP candidate for statewide office to qualify for the funding, which requires candidates for governor to raise $250,000 in small donations,
It's a big boon for him as he seeks to fend off wealthy fellow Republican Tom Foley.
"Qualifying for the clean elections program means our campaign will have the resources to compete with our wealthy self-funding opponents in the primary and against whoever emerges as the Democrat standard-bearer in August," Fedele said in a statement.
By participating in the public financing program, Fedele and Boughton won't have to spend precious time before the Aug. 10 primary dialing for dollars, Boughton said.
"With our fundraising behind us, Mike and I will now focus our efforts entirely on connecting with the voters we seek to serve, and sharing our vision for moving our state forward," Boughton said in the statement.
The Fedele-Boughton campaign says it received donations from nearly 3,000 people; the average donationw was slightly more than $80.
Democrat Dan Malloy was the first candidate for governor to qualify for public money.