Brookes Exits GOP Race for LG. Will Devote Energy to Obsitnik Campaign.

Ann Brookes announced Tuesday on Facebook that she is abandoning her bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. She will instead apply her efforts to electing Steve Obsitnik governor.

Brookes had been shopping around for a gubernatorial running mate but could find no takers. Her fundraising never took off and the magic $75,000 in small contributions needed to qualify for public financing seemed an elusive target as the party nominating convention grew nearer.

Brookes made a late bid for the Republican nomination for Congress in the Second Congressional District in 2016, losing by a few votes. She is the second candidate to vamoose from the campaign for LG. State Representative Liz Linehan (D-Cheshire) ended her bid for the office when running mate Dan Drew withdrew from the race for governor last year. Linehan, who was billed as a progressive Democrat, made news recently when she voted against the nomination of Associate Justice Andrew McDonald to become Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court, providing a reminder that sometimes you never know what you are getting in a running mate. How was Dan Drew to know?