Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton announced on Wednesday that he is dropping out of the race for Connecticut governor. Instead, he's supporting endorsed Republican candidate Tom Foley.
"It's been my honor to seek Connecticut's highest statewide office," Boughton said in a statement. "However, I now believe it is time to suspend my candidacy and call for party unity behind the endorsed Republican candidate, Tom Foley."
Boughton recently supported Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti's bid to appear as a candidate for lieutenant governor on the GOP primary ballot. The two worked to collect 8,190 required signatures, and to qualify as a ticket for public campaign financing.
During a recent appearance on WNPR's Where We Live, capitol bureau chief for The Connecticut Mirror Mark Pazniokas explained how vital Lauretti was for Boughton's campaign. "He needs Mark Lauretti to qualify for the primary ballot," Pazniokas said. "The reason is he needs Mark Lauretti as a fundraising partner to qualify for public financing. No public financing, no Mark Boughton campaign."
Listen to Pazniokas discuss it below:
Earlier, Boughton had planned to run for governor as a ticket with Heather Somers of Groton, who later decided to run solo.
A Republican primary debate was scheduled for Wednesday evening at the Hartford Public Library. Foley had already decided not to appear, and with Boughton withdrawing from the race, John McKinney would be the only candidate to make an appearance.
