Zero: Where Dan Drew Started His Race for Governor.

More bad news for Democrat Dan Drew. He had to go back to zero. The Middletown mayor ended his exploratory committee and became a candidate for governor in July. For most candidates that transition includes carrying forward a bundle of contributions that qualify toward public financing requirements. Republican Steve Obsitnik, for example, reported bringing forward more than $189,000 in qualifying contributions from his exploratory committee to his candidate committee last month.

Drew reported to the State Elections Enforcement Commission this week that he will carry forward zero contributions. Drew has had to start again in the race to reaching $250,000 to qualify for deficit-ridden Connecticut’s generous public financing program. That is a heavy lift for a campaign that has had weeks of trouble over murky campaign finance activities and puts him far behind his Democratic rivals.