CT Governor Election A 3-Way Race As Independents Nominate Hotaling

CONNECTICUT — At the state's Independent Party Caucus held Tuesday night, Cheshire banker Rob Hotaling emerged with the party's nomination for governor. Glastonbury veterinarian Dr. Stewart "Chip" Beckett won the nod for lieutenant governor.

The caucus vote is being challenged by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski, who won a cross-endorsement from the Independent Party during the 2018 election cycle. Stefanowski garnered 25,388 votes from the Independents during that failed gubernatorial run.

Stefanowski and his running mate Laura Devlin said the campaign is "consulting with consul" and expects to mount a challenge to the results of the Tuesday caucus.

The first round of caucus voting showed Stefanowski-Devlin with 79 votes, Hotaling-Beckett with 75, and a third party with four. After applying a "ranked choice" voting system, four additional votes were awarded to Hotaling and Beckett, resulting in a 79-79 tie.

"In what appears to be a flagrant violation of his own bylaws, Independent Party Chairman Mike Telesca voted to break the tie and award the endorsement to his handpicked candidate, Robert Hotaling," campaign spokesman Chris Russell said in a statement.

Stefanowski's name also did not appear on the pre-printed ballot, despite the candidate having completed and mailed the application on time, according to Russell.