According to Roll Call, Republican Senate candidates Rob Simmons, Tom Foley and Sam Caligiuri won’t push for an August 2010 primary if they fail to capture the requisite number of delegates at the State GOP Convention.
Former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons stated that he would not pursue a primary if he does not win the party endorsement:
“I have announced that if I don’t win the convention, I will not engage in a primary for a simple reason that our Republican Party here in Connecticut is a minority party,” Simmons said in September. “When a minority party engages in a primary, it can be very divisive and undercut our efforts in the general election.”
Senate candidates Foley and Caligiuri both indicated that if they did not receive the necessary 15% at the Convention, they would not petition for the August primary.
Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon did not indicate whether she would pursue a primary if necessary after the Convention.
Candidates receiving 15% or more of the vote at the Convention automatically qualify for the August primary.
This revelation heightens the importance of the State GOP Convention which had seemed to wane in recent weeks. Candidates Simmons and Caligiuri released their new endorsements on an almost daily basis through September, but since October 5th have not announced any new supporters.
Simmons remains in the lead in the delegate count with 44 delegates, while Caligiuri has 11 public supporters.
The State GOP Convention will convene on the evening of Friday, May 21, 2009 to nominate a GOP Senate candidate.
3 responses so far ↓
The candidate likely to win the convention says he won’t primary unless he wins the convention.
The two candidates likely to receive 15% at the convention say they won’t primary unless they receive 15% at the convention.
The two candidates who may need to go the petition route say nothing.
Still looks like a five-way primary to me.
That said, four of the five would be stronger gubernatorial candidates than anyone now being discussed. Is there any chance one of them (Simmons, Caligiuri, Foley or McMahon) might go in that direction? I’ve never seen a candidate make such a switch–is it possible?
Amusing. Rob Simmons is telling the other candidates what to do by way of saying what he would do in their place, except not in so many words.
Rob Simmons would probably drop dead on the spot if he did not win the party endorsement at the Convention.
I agree. Linda is weak with grassroots folks so she is probably going to have to petition.
Who knows what Schiff’s plans are. I still can’t figure out exactly why he is in this race.
I see at least 3, maybe 4 candidates will be on the ballot in August.
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