The New Hampshire commission formed this summer to put together a proposal for full public financing of campaigns for the state has been working away and this article gives an update on where the proposal stands.  Right now they're focusing in getting data on the cost of campaigning so they can make recommendations on the amount of funding candidates receive, and where that funding should come from.Meanwhile nearby in Connecticut The Day studies one state legislative race where the new Clean Elections public financing program has helped a challenger mount a viable campaign against a long-term incumbent.  State Rep. Jack Malone (D) is being challenged by Christopher Coutu for his seat in Norwich, and Coutu credits Clean Elections with helping him mount his challenge:  Without the $30,000 in public funding he received for participating in the program, he said, “I would be here, but I wouldn't have a presence.” Malone, who opposed public financing in the legislature but has participated in the program this cycle, acknowledged that the new system has strengthened the hands of those trying to take out incumbents like himself. But he said he is taking the challenge in stride. ”You welcome it,” Malone said. “All my colleagues here, they don't have opponents, but I do. And it makes you do your job. It makes you a better candidate."See, everybody benefits from a little healthy competition.