Accusations Of Illegal Tactics Fly In Connecticut Republican Primary

CT-05 GOP House candidates Sam Caligiuri and Justin Bernier.
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A contested GOP primary in Connecticut is turning ugly, and, with just days to go before voters choose a nominee, an insurgent is accusing the Republican-endorsed candidate of engaging in illegal electioneering activities.

The controversy centers on an unsolicited mailer from the campaign of State Sen. Sam Caligiuri, which includes both a letter and an absentee ballot application. In the letter, Caligiuri identifies himself not as the Republican-endorsed candidate, but as the “Republican nominee.”

“As the Republican nominee to take on [Democrat] Chris Murphy, I hope I can count on your support in the August 10th primary,” the letter reads.

His opponent, Justin Bernier, is crying foul, saying the mailer may violate election law.

In a letter to Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, the Bernier camp describes the mailer as “a calculated and deliberate attempt to mislead voters.”

“Mr. Caligiuri’s campaign has been obtaining large numbers of absentee ballot applications from Town Clerks throughout the district,” the letter reads. “His campaign has been sending out these applications unsolicited to voters throughout the district. His workers, or any individual who obtains these applications, has a duty to account to the various town clerks for each application prior to Election Day.”

Bernier is seeking the Secretary of States opinion on two issues:

1. Is it legal for Mr. Caligiuri’s letter to mislead voters by telling them that he is the nominee when, in fact, he knows that he is not?

2. Is it legal for a campaign to obtain such large numbers of absentee ballot applications when the ability to properly account for all of them by election day is inherently doubtful?

TPMDC attempted to reach out to the Caligiuri campaign this morning, but a call was not answered, and we were unable to leave a voice message.

Misleading, and even fraudulent, mailers are among the subtler of political dark arts, and are particularly common ahead of a contested election.

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