Joe Visconti is trying to find his sweet spot — somewhere between being disarming as a candidate and not disarming the very political base that put him on the ballot for governor.
Running on a Second Amendment platform and tea party principles, Visconti released his first ad since successfully petitioning his way on the November 4 general election ballot last week.
And it’s the steak tartar of red meat.
The 30-second video, which is posted on Visconti’s YouTube channel, shows the former West Hartford town councilman riding on the highway in a custom Pontiac Grand Ville convertible with cattle horns protruding from the grill and guns mounted on the vehicle’s side panels.
“I’m Joe Visconti and I’m running for governor of Connecticut because the Second Amendment has been violated by Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy,” Visconti tells viewers.
Visconti said he plans to buy airtime on the Outdoor Channel to run the ad, which shows him packing a .380-caliber Beretta in a holster on his left hip when he exits the vehicle.
“We’re looking to nationalize the race with that one ad,” Visconti told Hearst Connecticut Media. “We’re looking to get those people from red states would be more inclined to support me.”
The handgun in the commercial holds a high-capacity magazine that Visconti said was grandfathered in when Connecticut passed sweeping firearms restrictions in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. It can accept 13 rounds of ammunition, three more than allowed under the law. High capacity magazines bought before April 4, 2013, are exempt from the ban, so long as they are registered with the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Should he be invited to participate in gubernatorial debates, Visconti said he would not shy away from packing heat.
“If they allow you to, I will,” Visconti said.
Visconti said he has been unable to carry the handgun into government buildings and some other venues, including the Hartford studios of Connecticut Public Broadcasting and WNPR, which share a building with a school.