Record Journal: Farrell campaign is putting family first <read>
The article is focused on the Farrell campaign and a comparison with Brinson campaign, but possibly the most significant news is that according to the party chair, Richard Abbate is not going to continue as a candidate:
In addition to Farrell, only Corey Brinson, a Hartford attorney, has filed to officially seek the party’s nomination, according to Republican State Chairman Chris Healy. Richard Abbate, a Cheshire resident who has previously been linked to a possible run, told him that he does not intend to seek the nomination, Healy said.
With a long head start has visited more of the state, yet Farrell is quickly catching up in contributions:
Brinson, who officially announced his candidacy in June 2009, does appear to have the edge on Farrell in number of town committees visited so far. Brinson said he has visited about 45 town committees as opposed Farrell’s eight and that he was confident he would secure the party’s nomination.
“My competition got into the race a few weeks ago; we’ve been in the race since last summer,” Brinson said. “We’re being well received as we travel across Connecticut.”
The two are about neck and neck in campaign fundraising, however. Both have pledged to use the public campaign financing program, with Brinson saying his campaign has taken in about $15,000 thus far, while Farrell said his team has helped him haul in just over $16,000. They each must raise $75,000 to qualify for a grant of $375,000 through the program.
A federal judge ruled Connecticut’s public campaign finance system unconstitutional last August, a decision that the state has since appealed, leaving some uncertainty as to whether that avenue will even be available for candidates this year.
I talked with Abbate this morning, and he told me that he was going to run for State Rep instead. Seemed like an alright guy.