Friday, January 27, 2012

Boughton, Caligiuri both mum on their 5th district faves



There’s no dearth of Republicans running for the 5th district. There are five GOP candidates — Justin Bernier, Mike Clark, Mark Greenberg, Andrew Roraback and Lisa Wilson-Foley — not to mention three Democratic candidates and an independent.
Each of the Republican candidates boast several, if not many endorsements. But two important endorsements are noticeably absent.
Quick quiz: Which city in the 5th district carries the most amount of Republican delegates?
If you answered “Danbury,” you are correct. That city’s Mayor Mark Boughton has yet to tag a favorite, and he may not.
“There are a lot of good candidates in the race,” he said. “I haven’t really made a determination yet if I’m going to endorse anyone.”
It’s not that he’s been silent or inactive. He was vocally opposed to a now failed GOP plan to move his city out of the 5th district, and he’s been meeting with and talking to the candidates. So far, he said he’s met with all but “one or two.”
Here’s another quick quiz: Who was the GOP nominee for 5th district last cycle?
If you answered “Sam Caligiuri,” you are correct again (aren’t you smart), and the former state senator, like Boughton, has yet to make an endorsement. But he may yet.
“Up to this point, I have not endorsed anyone,” he said. “That may change.”
Caligiuri has bowed out of politics since losing to Chris Murphy, now running for Senate, by eight percentage points. He has met with all the current GOP candidates, and has offered himself as “a resource.”
“I felt I would add the greatest value, to try to help us win this seat back,” he said.
And, after all, it’s still early.
“The race got off to an early start,” Caligiuri said. “Races have a way of unfolding over time.”
Caligiuri also refused to pick a horse in the Senate race, saying that both GOP front-runners, McMahon and Shays, were “very strong candidates.”
“I’m keeping my powder dry on that,” he said.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is going to be an interesting story to watch considering both of these men are probably candidates for governor in 2014. Considering the sorry state of affairs our state is in...and will be in by then it means one of them will likely be our next governor. I admire and respect both of these guys and their political skills are among the best around, which is why it will be telling on where they place their support...if they place their support! Both are men of solid principles so any endorsement that may look like it is different from their long standing principles could hurt them with their base of support. Keep this in mind: Mark Boughton endorsed Linda McMahon very early in this cycle which surely would be reciprocated by McMahon if she were to win the US Senate seat, thus taking a very powerful endorsement away from Caligiuri in what would certainly be a close race. So does Caligiuri endorse Shays or not? It is no secret that social conservatives, most notably FIC have always been big supporters of Caligiuri and many credit them with his win in the 5th CD primary in 2010. If Caligiuri were to endorse a pro choice candidate in the 5th CD(especially NARAL backed Roraback)his opponents in the race of 2014 could use this as a wedge with his base. Most of this means nothing to the average voter in CT and only interests us political junkies. However, the thing to remember is that in primaries it is the political junkies and those who follow these twists and turns closely that turn out for primaries year in and year out. In a primary that is sure to be as close as a Caligiuri/Boughton one would be for governor, the history books will be written about things such as this, as the reasons why one is the focus of that chapter while the other is a footnote, in small type, at the bottom of the page. The good thing for Republicans and the state is that either way WE win. However, the importance of their decisions may decide which one is the subject and which one is the footnote!

January 28, 2012 at 1:25 PM 
Anonymous Frank said...

www.pistone for congress.org
John Pistone for Congress.

February 7, 2012 at 3:30 PM 

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