Bids for public funding hit minor snag for Bacchiochi and Herbst

State Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Stafford, accepts the nomination for Lt. Gov. at the Connecticut Republican Convention, Saturday, May 17, 2014, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

State Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, R-Stafford, accepts the nomination for Lt. Gov. at the Connecticut Republican Convention, Saturday, May 17, 2014, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A pair of GOP candidates for statewide office will have to wait at least another week until their big payday.

The state Elections Enforcement Commission balked Wednesday night at approving the applications for public campaign financing of Penny Bacchiochi and Tim Herbst, who earned their party’s endorsement last month for lieutenant governor and state treasurer.

The agency will carry its deliberations over to next week, an occurrence that commission lawyer Joshua Foley told Hearst Connecticut Media is fairly common.

Candidates on the under-ticket must raise $75,000 in political contributions to qualify for public financing for their campaigns under the state’s so-called clean elections program, which limits individual contributions to $100.

“Generally speaking, applications are continued because of a shortfall in the dollar threshold or in-district qualifying contribution threshold,” Foley said.

Bacchiochi and Herbst both declared that they had reached the qualifying threshold for public funding going into last month’s state GOP convention.

“There’s a difference between when campaigns say they’re qualified and when the commission approves it,” Foley said.

Five of the 12 applications on the commission’s agenda Wednesday night were continued to next week.

If his application is approved, Herbst would receive $800,000 from the Citizens’ Election Program as the presumptive GOP nominee for state treasurer. He is not facing a primary opponent.

Bacchiocchi, who is pitted against former Groton Mayor Heather Bond Somers and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker in the GOP race, would get $400,000 for the primary.

Neil Vigdor