Liberal Democrat hits fundraising threshold as Connecticut gubernatorial primary gets nastier

HARTFORD, Conn. - After months of painstaking work, liberal Democrat Josh Elliott says he has reached the threshold for public financing in a major battle against Gov. Ned Lamont with only two months before a crucial August primary.

Elliott, a state legislator from Hamden, has been harshly criticizing Lamont as he seeks Democratic votes in an uphill battle against a two-term incumbent with widespread name recognition. But Elliott says he will soon be eligible for $3.7 million in public funds to wage a historic battle against Lamont, a Greenwich multimillionaire who has spent more than $60 million of his own money on four statewide races over the past 20 years.

"This campaign has now raised more in qualifying contributions than any candidate in the history of the Citizens' Election Program," Elliott said, referring to this year's inflation-adjusted total of $335,000 that triggers the public grant. "We continue to punch above our weight because we know exactly what we are fighting for: affordable housing, lower energy costs, a public health insurance option, and a tax structure where the cost of state and local government does not fall on the shoulders of working families."

Elliott is continuing his fundraising in order to have a cushion in case some contributions are disqualified in the same way that candidates gather more than the minimum number of petition signatures in order to gain a spot on the ballot. The State Elections Enforcement Commission will make the final determination on when Elliott would receive the public funds. Elliott told The Courant on Monday that he expects to file his formal application on June 10 and receive funding by the end of the month.

"Every misstep at this stage means weeks of delay, and weeks of delay are weeks we are not spending in front of voters," Elliott told supporters in an email. "The larger our buffer, the better our chances of getting that grant out of the gate. Right now, it is all hands on deck. Our team is working through roughly $60,000 in contributions that still need to be cleaned up and verified, and we have moved internal resources onto that effort so the application we submit is the strongest it can be. This whole campaign has been about the fight ahead of us, and building the best possible grant application is the next one."

A to Z vs. Elliott

At the same time, the race is getting nastier as Elliott has become involved in a dust-up with former House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, a pro-union Democrat who served with Elliott in the legislature before becoming a paid lobbyist and television pundit on WTNH Channel 8, in New Haven.

On Facebook, Aresimowicz wrote in detail on Elliott's campaign.

"But seriously Democratic primary voters should pay close attention to Josh Elliott's campaign, and it goes beyond any single issue or policy disagreement," Aresimowicz wrote. "What is most concerning is the style of politics he is bringing to this race. For years, many Democrats have criticized Donald Trump not simply because of where he stood on issues, but because of how he approached public life. Trump built a political movement around grievance, outrage, and the idea that anyone who disagreed with him was corrupt, compromised, or acting in bad faith. Complex problems were reduced to simple villains. Institutions were portrayed as inherently suspect. Nuance became weakness. Governing became secondary to performance."

Aresimowicz continued, "Josh Elliott's campaign increasingly follows that same playbook. No, he is not Donald Trump ideologically. But the tactics are strikingly familiar. Every disagreement becomes evidence of corruption. Every policy debate becomes a morality play. Anyone who raises practical concerns or asks difficult questions is portrayed as serving some special interest. The goal is not to persuade people who disagree. The goal is to delegitimize them. That may generate applause at campaign events. It may produce effective fundraising emails. But it is a dangerous way to govern."

In a column on Substack, Elliott had blasted Eversource and said that Aresimowicz had defended the giant electric utility that last year collected $1.69 billion in profits. After leaving the legislature, Aresimowicz became a paid lobbyist for Gaffney Bennett, a New Britain-based firm that represents Eversource and other corporate interests. On Monday, the firm's website included praise from former New Britain mayor Erin Stewart that the firm's "knowledge of statewide issues and their relationships with employees at all levels of government has resulted in opportunities for us that we deemed impossible."

Referring to Aresimowicz's regular appearance on Channel 8, Elliott wrote, "In the segment, the former Speaker defended Eversource's practices and treated this campaign as a threat to the corporation, which it is. Then he reached for a familiar dismissal, calling this an issues campaign as though caring about the issues were a flaw. The phrase is his, not ours: we have never described this as only an issues campaign, but as a campaign to win, and the issues are the reason we are winning the argument. … If the complaint from Eversource's hired voice is that we talk about the issues too much, that is a complaint I am content to keep earning."

Elliott added, "It is also why it matters to send someone to the governor's office who will hold Eversource accountable rather than shield them from actual oversight. Franklin Roosevelt fought the utility monopolies of his era, and when organized money lined up against him, he said plainly, ‘I welcome their hatred.' I feel the same about the opponents this campaign is making. When a corporation like Eversource decides you are worth attacking, it is because you intend to change an arrangement that has served their executives very well."

On Monday, Elliott declined to push the argument further and declined to comment on the former Speaker's mention of Trump.

"We aren't looking to have a big back-and-forth with Joe," Elliott told The Courant in an email. "We respect that he doesn't think this campaign is worth running, and we pointed out that he is a paid Eversource lobbyist. It was about as simple as that."

Elliott has been increasingly at odds with Lamont as they head toward the Aug. 11 primary.

"While Josh Elliott is focused on grandstanding, picking fights, and casting himself as the lone righteous voice in the room, Governor Lamont is focused on delivering results," said Rob Blanchard, Lamont's chief campaign spokesman. "His record speaks for itself: the largest permanent middle-class tax cut in Connecticut history, the Take Back Our Grid Act to hold utilities accountable, and policies that are now lowering residential electric bills by roughly 14%, saving many families money each month. Governor Lamont is working hard and getting results for taxpayers."

Fundraising continues

So far, Elliott says 3,215 people have contributed to his campaign with 5,470 separate contributions for an average of less than $64 each. The contributions came from more than 150 of Connecticut's 169 cities and towns under the state public financing rules that limit a maximum donation to $340. Overall, $302,000 of the total must come from in-state contributions, which will be checked by the SEEC in a detailed process.

Elliott describes the process as "exceptionally hard" and the campaign as "exhausting" as he has visited one to three Democratic town committees on many nights as he criss-crosses the state.

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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 4:16 AM.