John Naughten to seek Fine Gael nomination to run in General Election

After months of speculation, Cllr John Naughten has confirmed he will seek the nomination to run as a candidate for Fine Gael in the forthcoming general election.

Cllr Naughten said he believes he is the candidate who can unite the party locally, rebuild it, and deliver a Dáil seat in the Roscommon-Galway constituency.

Cllr Naughten is the brother of outgoing Independent TD, Denis Naughten, who announced last year that he would not be running again for the Dáil.

The Fine Gael convention for the Roscommon-Galway constituency, which will be held in the Abbey Hotel, Roscommon Town, on September 20th at 7.30 p.m., is set to be a contested one. 

FG Senator Aisling Dolan, who ran for the party in 2020, has already indicated she will be seeking the nomination, while there is also speculation that chairperson of Roscommon GAA, Brian Carroll could also be putting his hat into the ring.

In a statement, Cllr Naughten, who is from Drum, South Roscommon, said he was “contacted some time ago by the then Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who asked me to consider contesting the forthcoming general election.

“Over the last number of weeks I have been inundated with requests from people within the Fine Gael organisation, both locally and nationally, as well as other local organisations asking if I would contest the forthcoming general election.

“Following the redrawing of the Roscommon-Galway constituency, I feel my geographical location leaves me ideally placed to deliver a Dáil seat and I believe I am the candidate who can unite our party locally, rebuild it and secure a Dáil seat in the next general election.”