Connecticut Republicans were poised to pick their candidate for the US Senate in Tuesday's primary. This could indicate where the state party is headed politically after years of supporting moderates.
In the Senate election, former House Minority Leader Themis Clarides, a socially moderate advocate for abortion rights and gun control measures, will take on two conservatives. Levy, who last week endorsed ex-President Donald from his Trump
, is the first candidate to loan more than $1 million of his campaign funds, and is the first to receive a $1 million loan from Trump. touted its endorsement as proof that he was "true America." - First Patriot" LeMaju, who ran for gubernatorial election in 2018 and she failed, could beat incumbent Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the November election. are conservatives only.
At a Republican event in Montville on Thursday, after Trump announced his endorsement in a phone call, "President Trump's support tells voters that every state is aiming to turn a deficit." I've proven it," Levy said in a statement.
Newly appointed Secretary of State Mark Kohler reports that polls are "pretty quiet" in his first election and some tallying machines are "a little hot". said only a handful.
In Connecticut, no Republican has been elected to the Senate since his Lowell P. Weicker Jr. from 1971 until 1989.
Republican and former Colchester selection committee member Art Shiroski says he doesn't think Trump's nomination of a candidate will ultimately end the Republican drought. He also questioned whether Trump's endorsement would help Levy.
"No, I don't think it's good. ix," said Siloski outside the polling place where he voted for Clarides. "I think the Republican in Connecticut is more moderate than he [Trump]. He's too far away. People don't care about it. I don't."
Clarides argues that her legislative experience and moderate stance on issues such as abortion could persuade Connecticut voters in the general election to oust Blumenthal, who has been in office since 2011. She focuses on economic issues such as inflation and gas prices. This is important because we are a closer state,” Clarides said at a recent debate. "I'm a strong, common-sense Connecticut Republican. That's how we win elections in this state."
Clarides won party support at the spring state convention. Lumaj and Levy rely on their conservative message to resonate with hardcore Republicans who tend to vote in the state's low turnout summer primaries.
Voters on Tuesday also picked the candidate to replace Democratic Secretary of State Dennis Merrill, who resigned in June to care for her ailing husband.
In the Republican election, conservative Dominic Rapini, an Apple sales executive and party supporter, defeated Rep. Terry Wood, a Republican from Darien.
Rapini calls for stricter ID requirements and cleaner state voter rolls. He said he has suspicions about voter misconduct, especially in Bridgeport, the state's largest city. There, various state and local officials have been accused of electoral fraud over the years. voting application.
Rapini is the former chairman of a group called Fight Voter Fraud Inc., which was accused by a woman of dozens of complaints about alleged voter fraud in Connecticut during the 2020 election. was established. Around the time Rapini left the group, the State Election Commission dismissed most complaints, saying it was a "waste of the board's limited investigative resources."
Wood also expressed support for Connecticut's new voter ID law.
On the Democratic side, State Representative Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk defeated New Haven Health Director Maritza her bond. Each of them has pledged to oppose attempts by the Republican Party to tighten voting rules. Given that she had two jobs for most of her life, she said such restrictions were close to home. don't drive He took a bus for an hour and a long walk along the main road until he got to the nearest Automobile Department branch for voter registration.
"So when Republicans make it hard to vote, what they're targeting is people like my mother," she said in a recent commercial. } Democrats will also pick a candidate to fill the state treasurer job vacated by Democrat Sean Wooden.
Eric Russell, a lawyer specializing in local government finances, spoke to Dita Bhargava, Chief Operating Officer of Private Investment Funds, and Karen DuBois Walton, who oversees the Housing Authority in New Haven. stand up.
Meanwhile, the Republicans in the state's 4th congressional district are either party-backed candidates, Darien first-choice James Stevenson, or Greenwich doctor and attorney Michael His Goldstein. choose. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Jim Himes in his November.
