A Maine volunteer for a gubernatorial candidate in 2010 has pleaded guilty to listing several small donors as having contributed to the campaign, even though they had not. The Maine public funding programs requires candidates to collect a certain number of $5 contributions, as a condition of getting public funding. This sets up a temptation for candidates to try to claim that they have collected more donations than they really have. See this story.
This is one reason why this system does not work.
Having run for office as both a publicly and tradtionally funded candidate for office, i can tell you most emphatically that it does work, especially for the legislative offices.
It removes the burden of having to raise money that can better be spent campaigning.
as a side not Maine house distrtics have about 7000 people and senate districts have about 38000, so the more time you have to meet voters the better you chances of winning
The one thing in Maine is that our system, which is generally quite good, has not actually achieved a publicly funded Governor. Unfortunately, the corporately funded Democrats and Republicans have refused to totally buy-in. Libby Mitchell, who was publicly funded and a Democrat, ran a terrible campaign and with 19% of the vote, effectively handed an atrocity of a Governor in Paul LePage to be elected.