Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti faced a looming deadline Tuesday to submit thousands of signatures from registered Republicans in order to appear as a lieutenant governor candidate on the GOP primary ballot.
Lauretti has teamed up with Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who won enough support at the recent Republican convention to run the gubernatorial primary.
If Lauretti successfully collects the 8,190 signatures needed, the two plan to pool their funds to qualify as a ticket for public campaign financing. Lauretti had until 4:00 pm on Tuesday to submit the signatures.
Heath Fahle, Boughton's campaign spokesperson, said that more than 8,190 signatures have been collected, but they still need to be verified as registered GOP voters.
Boughton and Lauretti paired up after Boughton's former political partner, Heather Somers of Groton, announced she was running solo, and wouldn't pool her funds with Boughton.
The Republican primary is scheduled for August 12.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.
