In the end, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, who was going to be the default running mate for Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, came in way short of the 8,190 signatures of registered Republicans needed to be a petition candidate for lieutenant governor in the August 12 GOP primary. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill reported today that Lauretti obtained only 6,723 signatures. Boughton dropped his primary bid for governor last week, leaving the primary to Senate Minority Leader John McKinney and Tom Foley, the Republican’s 2010 runner-up.
The Republican lieutenant governor field is down to Heather Bond Somers, a Groton council member who had been aligned with Boughton, but who dumped him after the May GOP convention; Rep. Penny Bacchiochi of Stafford, who won the party endorsement; and David Walker of Bridgeport, who has teamed up with McKinney.