Mike Clark will endorse Andrew Roraback as he exits the congressional race in the 5th District today, a casualty of his inability to raise money in a five-contest for the GOP nomination.
Clark, a former FBI agent and Farmington councilman, is leaving the race two days before the Republican nominating convention, an admission he was short of the minimum delegate support to automatically qualify for an August primary.
Candidates need 15 percent of the delegate vote to qualify. Clark could have petitioned his way onto the primary ballot, but he was not financially positioned to continue his campaign.
“That’s one of the metrics,” Clark said, referring to campaign funds. “Coming in, I knew it would be a challenge.”
He will hold a press conference with Roraback, a state senator from Goshen, at 4 p.m. in his Farmington campaign headquarters.
“He brings experience. He’s been elected,” Clark said. “I admire his integrity.”
Roraback now faces Justin Bernier, Mark Greenberg and Lisa-Wilson Foley for the GOP nomination.
The campaigns of Clark and Wilson-Foley have been linked in recent weeks by John G. Rowland, the former governor who was an investigative target of Clark’s and, more recently, a visible supporter of Wilson-Foley.
Four candidates remain: Justin Bernier, Mark Greenberg, Andrew Roraback and Lisa Wilson-Foley.