Connecticut legislative candidates who have no opponent in the upcoming November election are applying for and receiving tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer supported state election grant funds to run their campaigns, according to a review of State Election Enforcement Commission (SEEC) notices and campaign filings.

Thus far, thirteen of the thirty-nine unopposed legislative candidates have received $206,980 in Citizen Election Program(CEP) grant money, with more to be announced as politicians aim to get the largest grant possible because the grant amount starts to decline as the election grows closer.

The CEP was created in 2005 under emergency certification in reaction to Gov. John Rowland’s corruption case. The voluntary program aims to reduce corruption by “allowing candidates to compete without reliance on special interest money,” and “make decisions free of the influence of, or the appearance that they have been influenced by, donations from special interests,” according to SEEC, which administers the program. 

The program is funded through the sale of abandoned properties acquired by the state, surplus campaign contributions, investment earnings and, in the case of a shortfall, corporation tax revenue.

Under the CEP, candidates who raise a certain amount of money from small dollar donors can apply for and receive taxpayer funds for their campaign. The amount of the grant depends on what office the candidate is seeking, whether they are in a district that skews heavily toward one party, and whether they have an opponent.

For instance, this year, candidates for state senator can receive $131,155 if they face an opponent, while a state representative candidate can receive $38,575. If those candidates do not face an opponent, those grant amounts drop to $39,346 and $11,572.50, respectively. Grants for gubernatorial races, for instance, run over $18 million. Gov. Lamont, however, self-funds his campaigns.

Thus far, two unopposed Democratic state senate and seven unopposed Democratic state representative candidates have received grants, while three unopposed Republican state representative candidates have received grants. Democrat Party candidates account for thirty-five of the thirty-nine unopposed races.

Because the law was passed under emergency certification, there was no public hearing process to determine why lawmakers believed grant money should be awarded to unopposed candidates, and that funding has been criticized in the past, including a proposed bill in 2017 to eliminate grant funding for unopposed candidates that went nowhere.

Connecticut GOP Chairman Ben Proto, who is opposed to the CEP program in general, acknowledges that he has taken flak for allowing so many General Assembly Democrats to go unopposed, but looks at those races in a different way: reducing the money given to Democrats through lower grant funds. 

By his count, allowing Democrat lawmakers to run unopposed in certain districts will reduce the combined CEP grant money sent to Democratic candidates by $1.7 million. “From our perspective there’s a strategic advantage to that,” Proto said.

Although the grant funding can only be used for the candidate’s campaign, Proto says the funds essentially have spillover effects. By pushing absentee balloting, early voting campaigns, and radio and digital ads that reach outside their districts, unopposed candidates can drive voter turnout in districts that will have the peripheral effect of benefitting other Democrat candidates in statewide races, like a gubernatorial race.

“I can’t give you the logic behind giving somebody who doesn’t have to run a campaign money to run a campaign,” Proto said, although he acknowledges there is some value in telling voters where a candidate, particularly a new one, stands on the issues even if they are unopposed. “Do I think they should get as much money? No. Do I think they need some money? Yes.”

“I do think they should get some money because I do think it’s important for voters to have an understanding of the person that they may vote for or may choose not to vote for in an unopposed race,” Proto said.

Unexpended CEP grant money is required to be returned to the Citizens Election Fund (CEF), and SEEC officials keep close tabs on how the money is spent, requiring expense filings and auditing campaigns, but the money coming back is a small percentage of what goes out according to SEEC’s reports to the Governor.

According to SEEC’s fiscal year 2024-2025 report, $13.3 million in CEP grants were dispersed to candidates, and $542,318 was returned. For the 2022-2023 fiscal years, $21.1 million went out and $762,989 was returned.

For example, in 2022, Sen. Derek Slap, D-West Hartford, ran unopposed and received a CEP grant of $33,838.50, boosting his total campaign funds to $46,147.72. Those funds were used for mailers, social media advertising, website work, T-shirts, and lawn signs, among other things. Slap’s campaign eventually returned $2,728.36 to the Citizens Election Fund.

Similarly, that same year, Rep. Joe Polletta, R-Oakville, ran unopposed and received $9,952 in CEP grant funding, boosting his total campaign fund to $15,131. SEEC filings show campaign expenditures for mailers, advertising in the newspaper, wages for campaign employees, and lawn signs. Polletta’s campaign eventually returned $2,697.35 to the election fund.

Slap appears to be running unopposed again this year so far and has received a CEP grant, according to a SEEC press release. The grant amount for an unopposed state senate candidate this year is $39,346.50. During SEEC’s latest meeting, the commission considered a CEP application from the campaign for Sen. Herron Gaston, D-Bridgeport, who is running unopposed, but continued the matter to a future date as he had not yet met the threshold for campaign contributions.

The CEP program has not been without its hurdles and challenges. In 2015, Republican Attorney General candidate Kie Westby sent nearly $450,000 in CEP funds to an LLC and paid his campaign manager $250 per hour , purportedly in an effort to spend down the grant funds. It resulted in a civil penalty levied by SEEC in the amount of $3,000. Earlier this year, former State Senator Dennis Bradley, D-Bridgeport, was convicted of defrauding the CEP by misusing the grant money and then covering it up during his 2018 campaign.

In 2018, the SEEC issued fines against State Senators Joe Markley and Rob Sampson because they received CEP funds but mentioned then-Gov. Dannel Malloy in their campaign advertising. CEP funding restrictions say the funds can only be used to campaign against a direct opponent. Markley and Sampson, however, alleged it was a violation of free speech, took the matter to the Connecticut Supreme Court, and won.

An investigation by Inside Investigator also found that since the CEP was enacted, campaign spending by general election candidates has tripled, with campaign losers often spending far more money than winners, while the margin of victory for winners has also increased.

Proto says he believes the program doesn’t necessarily show that a candidate is well supported, but only that they can raise a certain number of small dollar contributions before getting a windfall of campaign money, as opposed to having to raise the money they are going to campaign with.

“Raising money in political campaigns is a sign of support, that people are willing to write you a check because they want to see you win or do well, as opposed to going to a town committee meeting or calling up your friends and saying ‘Hey, I need fifty bucks so I can to this number and get $35,000 or $140,000 from the state,’” Proto said. “I think it does a disservice to the political process.”

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