Hartford - A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request from Dan Malloy, the Democratic candidate for governor, to set aside an injunction that stops Connecticut from providing matching funds to candidates using the state's public financing program.

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill denied the request for a stay filed in Bridgeport by Malloy and his campaign, explaining that a federal appeals court determined such funds are unconstitutional and "it is this court's responsibility to enter an injunction consistent with that holding."

Under the original state law, Malloy is supposed to receive $3 million in public funds for the general election. He also would have been entitled to an additional $6 million based on how much his Republican opponent, Tom Foley, and an outside group spends or raises.

But the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals determined that an automatic trigger of additional funds violates the free speech rights of a well-financed candidate, such as Foley, who won the GOP primary on Tuesday.

The state House of Representatives is scheduled to meet Friday to attempt to override a gubernatorial veto of a bill intended to fix the campaign finance reform law. That bill, which was repassed last week by the Senate, doubled the $3 million base grant for participating gubernatorial candidates in the general election as a way to make up for the loss of the matching funds.

Since Foley defeated Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele in Tuesday's GOP primary, Malloy is now the only candidate for governor participating in the voluntary public financing program.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, had urged lawmakers not to double the funding for gubernatorial candidates, saying the state could not afford it. But Democratic leaders of the General Assembly said the money was already budgeted in the estimated $40 million to be spent on statewide and legislative races. The Citizens Election Program is financed by unclaimed accounts, such as old bank accounts, that revert to the state.

Also on Wednesday, Underhill issued a permanent injunction stopping the state from providing the matching funds and from banning political contributions from lobbyists. He called on the state Supreme Court to determine whether those parts of the law determined to be unconstitutional by the federal appeals court can be separated from the overall law, allowing various reforms and the Citizens Election Program to remain in place.

The bill that was vetoed by Rell would have made such a change. Beth Rotman, executive director of the program, said if the House overturns Rell's veto, the issue will become moot and the state Supreme Court will not have to get involved.

"We want the legislature to end this on Friday with an override," she said. "Nobody wants the courts to be making these kinds of decisions."