Review: Millions in outside cash spent on election

Hartford — Connecticut voters were inundated with political mailers and advertising this year, much of it courtesy of vaguely named groups such as Change Connecticut and Connecticut Values.

A review by The Associated Press of state election records shows roughly 40 entities, including political action committees formed by unions, real estate agents, national party affiliates and issue organizations like Planned Parenthood, spent at least $12.5 million on what are known as “independent expenditures” on Connecticut’s 2018 state elections.

While there was a large concentration of outside money spent on the 2018 governor’s race — just like in 2014 — this year’s election highlighted a growing interest among groups to try to influence partisan control of Connecticut’s General Assembly. National Republicans saw an opportunity to take control of another state legislature, given how the Democratic majority in Connecticut has shrunk in recent elections amid voter frustration over the state’s budget challenges.

“You look at a state like Connecticut and say, ‘Well, why are we there?’” said David James, spokesman for the Republican State Leadership Committee, which contributed more than $1.8 million to the Change Connecticut PAC, an entity that worked to help GOP legislative candidates. “We’re there because we’re on the march and we’re looking for that room to expand, to play deep into Democrat territory.”

Ultimately, Democrats managed to expand their ranks this year. They will hold a 23-13 majority in the state Senate and a 92-59 majority in the House of Representatives when the legislature reconvenes in January. But that doesn’t mean the leadership committee, an arm of the national Republicans, is giving up.

The biggest outside spender in the governor’s race was the Republican Governors Association, which spent about $7.4 million to support GOP candidate Bob Stefanowski, who lost to Democratic Gov-elect Ned Lamont.