The number of legislative candidates running “clean election” campaigns is down in 2020, largely because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

To qualify, candidates have to collect qualifying $5 contributions from at least 60 registered voters in their district.

Two candidates told the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Campaign Finance on Wednesday that social distancing made it difficult to collect the qualifying funds during the pandemic.

All told, about 43 candidates who wanted to run a publicly funded campaign through the state program were unable to qualify — a higher figure than usual, the Portland Press Herald reported.