Musical Chairs For Republican Lieutenant Governor Candidates, Somers Throws Boughton Under The Bus, Boughton Embraces Lauretti

On a day Republican candidates for governor John McKinney and Mark Boughton submitted state paperwork to run in the August 12 primary against party-endorsed Tom Foley, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, once a gubernatorial candidate, will take out primary petitions to qualify for the ballot as a candidate for lieutenant governor, according to a spokesman for the Connecticut Secretary of the State. Boughton announced a partnership with Lauretti on Face The State. Some strange machinations are taking place for lieutenant governor.

Boughton, mayor of Danbury, qualified for the ballot at the GOP convention last week in an alliance with former Groton Mayor Heather Bond Somers who received enough delegate support to qualify for lieutenant governor running on the Boughton line. Boughton had hoped Somers fundraising could be applied with his to put him over the top to qualify for a $1.3 million primary grant under the state’s public financing system. But there’s trouble in paradise with an unraveling of the pairing. Boughton will have a hard time qualifying for public money without grouping his dough with Somers, which is allowed under public financing rules.

The party-endorsed candidate for Lieutenant Governor Penny Bacchiochi bruised relationships on the eve of the convention accusing the campaign of lieutenant governor candidate David Walker of injecting race into the campaign because of her biracial marriage. Bacchiochi admitted to a gaffe and apologized to Walker. Her false statement almost cost her the endorsement, but has raised questions about her temperament for the position. She’s running on the same line as Foley, but Foley has not endorsed her.

Walker, a Bridgeport resident, is running on the same line as McKinney who received enough support at the convention to make the August primary.

Lauretti has until June 10, 4 p.m. to submit 8,190 certified signatures of registered Republicans in Connecticut to qualify for the ballot. Is he pairing with Boughton?

Somers posted this statement on her website in a public break from Boughton:

Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Heather Somers announced today that she has decided to enter the primary for that office and to file for Citizens Election Program funds on her own.

“My decision to pursue a primary for the office of Lieutenant Governor on my own is a reflection of my support at the State Republican Convention at which I won nearly 1/3 of the delegate votes. Those votes represented a broad cross section of supporters from all of the respective candidates for Governor,” Somers stated.

“I have great respect for Mark Boughton, Tom Foley, John McKinney, Joe Visconti and Mark Lauretti. Any of them would be a better Governor than Dan Malloy. As such, I feel it best to forge my own path in the primary to serve as Lieutenant Governor,” Somers added.

“I am grateful for the hundreds of delegates, donors and volunteers who continue to support my campaign. In three short months we were able to surge into contention and I look forward to helping our Federal, Statewide and legislative candidates achieve victory this year in order to get Connecticut out of the economic mess that Dan Malloy has created,” Somers added.

Somers is a current Town Councilor and former Mayor of the Town of Groton.