Mark Boughton Wins GOP Endorsement For Lt. Governor

By Jon Lender

Republican delegates endorsed  Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele’s chosen running-mate, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, for lieutenant governor. They gave him 687 votes to defeat Simsbury businesswoman Lisa Wilson-Foley, whose 258 votes qualified her for an August primary, and former state Rep. Lenny Winkler of Groton, who got  90 votes and didn’t qualify.  The results reflected the delegates’ dwindling numbers near the convention’s end; the lieutenant governor’s contest was the last on the schedule.

 

Wilson-Foley did not say immediately whether she would exercise her right to challenge Boughton in an Aug. 10 primary. But Boughton said afterward that he is assuming that she will. If she does, Boughton will appear on the same primary ballot line as the party-endorsed gubernatorial candidate, Thomas Foley – who, unlike Fedele, did not come into the convention having named a lieutenant-governor candidate with whom he wanted to run.

 

Asked if appearing next to Foley on the ballot would be awkward for him, Boughton said, “I worked with Mike Fedele because I believe in his candidacy. But  I’m going to tell you that we’re blessed with three good candidates” – Foley, Fedele and the third Republican who qualified Saturday for the gubernatorial primary, R. Nelson “Oz” Griebel. “We’ll see what happens,” Boughton said. “At the end of the day August  10th at 8:30″ – after the primary polls close, that is – ” I’ll work with whoever the Republican nominee is,” Boughton said.

 

Asked if he would campaign for the primary in public appearances with Fedele, based on their pre-convention arrangement, Boughton declined to answer. Instead, he said he needs to talk in coming days with Fedele about the latter’s plans.