Wednesday is the deadline for two candidates hoping to petition their way on to the November gubernatorial ballot to submit voters’ signatures.
Tea Party Leader Joe Visconti and former state legislator and blogger Jonathan Pelto have until 4:00 pm to submit the signatures of the 7,500 registered voters required to earn a spot on the ballot.
"This is not a slam dunk for either of them," said Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant capitol bureau chief on WNPR'sWhere We Live.
Both candidates said they believe voters are looking for another option on Election Day besides Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy and the two Republicans running in next week's primary, Greenwich businessman Tom Foley, and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney.
Pelto said many educators are backing his campaign, while Visconti said he's receiving strong support from gun rights activists.
#CT petitions can be filed with my ofc or with town clerks, and clerks must report to my of how many verified signatures per page
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) August 6, 2014
Clerks have 2 weeks to report to my ofc how many signatures per petition page once they receive it #CT #elections #ctpolitics
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) August 6, 2014
petitioning candidates for statewide ofc need 7500 signatures from #CT registered #voters to qualify for the ballot in November
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) August 6, 2014
We likely won't know until near the end of August if those petitioning candidates for statewide ofc have enough signatures to qualify
— Denise Merrill (@SOTSMerrill) August 6, 2014