? State Republicans held their convention Saturday in New Britain, with Governor Jodi Rell (R-CT) leading the pack and others hoping to ride her coattails to success.

Rell took the stage surrounded by cheerleaders and signs of support. The incumbent governor gladly accepted her party's nomination and promised to complete her legislative legacy, if elected to another term. Representative Michael Fedele was nominated as Rell?s lieutenant governor.

The party also nominated candidates for comptroller, treasurer and secretary of state. Paul Streitz announced he is dropping out of the U.S. Senate race to unify Republicans in the hope that former state Representative Alan Schlesinger will nab the seat. However, insiders say all the GOP candidates, with the exception of the popular Rell, will face an uphill battle to be elected.