Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Boughton needs to collect 8,190 signatures by 4 p.m. on June 10 to get his running mate, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, on the GOP primary ballot. He’s offering petition circulators $2 a valid name.

There’s a catch: Under state law, the gig is only open to registered Republicans.

“It is a great way to make money fast,” the Boughton-Lauretti campaign said in an email blast Tuesday. They said they have collected 1,000 signatures

Boughton, the mayor of Danbury, was one of three candidates to qualify a week ago at the GOP state convention for the August primary by collecting at least 15 percent of the delegate vote. The others are Tom Foley of Greenwich, who won the endorsement, and Senate Minority Leader John P. McKinney of Fairfield. A fourth, Joe Visconti of West Hartford, is trying to qualify by petition.

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

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