In Connecticut, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump has launched an unconventional campaign to be governor of the state. Joe Visconti wants to be the GOP’s nominee for Connecticut governor in 2018 without going to the party convention.
This is not Visconti’s first unconventional run. The flamboyant 60-year-old, West Hartford resident, initially left the Republican Party to run for governor as an independent in 2014. He ended up with about 1 percent of the vote.
This time, Visconti, an ardent social media supporter of President Trump and his policies, is hoping to generate enough support from fellow Trump loyalists to qualify for next year’s GOP gubernatorial primary. He wants to do this through a petition drive. Visconti would need 2 percent of party members, about 8,900 signatures, to succeed.
Connecticut GOP Chair J.R. Romano has a terse response to this, saying that anyone can run for office. In its response, the state Democratic Party says any Republican candidate for governor in Connecticut would be a rubber stamp for Trump’s “anti-Connecticut policies.”
