Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti.
Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti made state headlines Monday after his campaign for governor raised $145,000 in the first round of finance disclosures.
He leads the crowded GOP field. Former lawmaker turned political columnist Kevin Rennie pointed out every contribution to Lauretti’s campaign qualify toward the state’s public campaign financing system.
That’s important because if his fundraising continues at that level he’ll unlock millions of dollars from the state’s system.
Lauretti’s campaign for governor has been somewhat ignored by state political reporters, so Monday’s disclosure was a revelation for many.
“… Lauretti’s debut with $145,090 was the most impressive: As a declared candidate for governor participating in the voluntary public financing program, he was limited to individual contributions of no more than $100,” Mark Pazniokas reported in The CT Mirror.
The campaign’s fundraising puts Lauretti on par with Kevin Lembo, who is trying to secure the Democratic nomination for governor. Lembo is the state’s comptroller. Holding a statewide office raises Lembo’s profile, which, in turn, makes Lauretti’s money raising all the more impressive.
Lauretti has been raising money since April.
“There are flashier names and personalities competing to be Connecticut’s next governor, but job titles and the number of Twitter followers don’t always translate to dollar signs,” Neil Vigdor wrote in The Connecticut Post.
