A 33-year-old pastor has been arrested for allegedly forging signatures in his bid to win the Connecticut Democratic primary for a state House seat in 2024.
Rev. Robert Kyle Hoggard of Middletown, who was reportedly an associate pastor at New Jerusalem Christian Center, submitted signatures to support his campaign for the 33rd District House seat.
Hoggard has accused the party of trying to cancel the primary, stating: “There’s a political class that does everything in its power to try to dissuade voters from wanting to serve their communities and cancel this election.”
Connecticut allows non-endorsed candidates to appear on the primary ballot by collecting signatures from voters in the district.
Democratic Registrar of Voters Patricia Alston flagged the signatures as suspicious and began an investigation.
Mike Fallon, chairman of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee, said in June 2024: “The alarming evidence includes multiple voters who stated that they did not sign a primary petition for the candidacy of Robert Kyle Hoggard and that the signature listed on the documents turned into the registrar’s office is fraudulent.”
