The first legislative candidates who plan to use Connecticut's new Clean Elections system in the general election this year have already qualified to receive their campaign grant and talk with the Fairfield Minuteman about how they feel the full public financing program will be received by candidates this cycle and how it will change campaign activities.

Confirming what earlier polls of likely candidates suggested, Rep. Kim Fawcett thinks most candidates will opt into the program which she calls "[a]n opportunity for candidates to prove their worth" and which she also predicts will change what her campaign schedule looks like this year, in comparison to years past:

At her press conference Tuesday, Fawcett said that completing the requirements early will leave her largely free from fundraising during the rest of the campaign. The more than $5,000 she has already raised, plus the $25,000 in public funds, will make up the vast majority of her campaign war chest.

"I feel like raising this money early really has an enormous impact," she said. "I won't have any fundraising concerns to distract me from talking to voters."