It all started with Sam Caligiuri, a Republican running for Congress from the 5th District, sent out a mailer containing an absentee ballot and identifying Caligiuri as "the Republican nominee."
Caligiuri won the endorsement of delegates at the GOP convention in May, but the party's nominee won't be decided until Tuesday's primary votes are counted. Justin Bernier, one of Caligiuri's Republican opponents, is crying foul. (A third Republican, Litchfield businessman Mark Greenberg, is also running.)
Bernier's campaign manager, Andrew Bernier, sent a letter to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz last week asking for her assistance in addressing a series of questions in connection with the mailer, which he says is a "calculated and deliberate attempt to mislead."
"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?'' Andrew Bernier's letter states. "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?"
Tiffany Romero Grossman, Caligiuri's spokeswoman, says the letter is "an act of desperation" on the part of the Bernier camp.
"Having won nearly 70% of the vote at the Republican nominating convention, Sam is the Republican nominee. That only changes if another candidate secures more of the vote in Tuesday's primary,'' Romero Grossman said via email. "While Sam has stayed focus on keeping the heat on Chris Murphy, it appears Mr. Bernier prefers to spend his time attacking other Republicans."