With candidates battling for support, the recent appearance of House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries provided a solid boost for U.S. Rep. John B. Larson as he faces his toughest battle in decades.
Only three months before the party convention, candidates are already looking ahead to the hotly contested Democratic primary for Congress in the Greater Hartford area. Democrats will be slicing up the votes among liberals and moderates as the candidates position themselves to appeal to the largest swath of primary voters.
Insiders say that Larson would benefit from a three-way primary, rather than a two-way contest, because former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest of West Hartford would split the remainder of the Democratic vote.
Longtime political science professor Gary Rose of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield says that Jeffries helps Larson among liberals. Larson has been viewed by some Democrats as a moderate, dating back 35 years to his days in the state Senate when he opposed creating the state income tax.
“Hakeem Jeffries is on the liberal side of the spectrum. He’s not a centrist Democrat,” Rose said in an interview. “It gives Larson the credibility as somewhat of a progressive Democrat, which I think he needs to win that primary. Having Hakeem Jeffries with him gives him that stamp of approval. … It gives voters a second thought about Larson’s credibility as a progressive Democrat. Hakeem Jeffries moves the needle a little bit. It gives Larson a little bit of a pull toward the progressive side of the spectrum, which he needs right now.”
Regarding strategy, Rose said that Larson would benefit from having additional candidates in the race.
At the convention, candidates need 15% of the delegates to gain a spot in the August primary unless they can gather enough signatures to qualify. If Gilchrest, hypothetically, had 13% or 14% at the convention, Larson should release some delegates to make sure that Gilchrest gets on the ballot, he said.
“The more opponents he has, the better for him,” Rose said. “I wouldn’t at all be surprised that there’s an effort to make sure that it’s a three-way primary. … I’m sure that John Larson wants her in the primary, along with Luke.”
But Gilchrest and her supporters believe she does not need Larson’s help to have far more than 15%, which translates to 63 delegates needed out of 419. Gilchrest’s hometown of West Hartford has 50 delegates, compared to 61 in Hartford, 33 in Manchester, 28 in Bristol, 27 in East Hartford, 24 in Windsor, 22 in Southington, and 21 in Bloomfield. The 27-town district stretches in spots to the Massachusetts border and includes small towns like Colebrook and Hartland that have one delegate each.
“I will have the support necessary to earn a place on the primary ballot,” Gilchrest said. “The intrigue around delegate manipulation reflects the same insider mindset that reduces politics to fundraising totals. They’re missing what’s happening on the ground — our message is driving this race and shaping the debate right now. This campaign will be decided by everyday voters, not donors, and that should make my opponents very nervous.”
Larson’s campaign declined to comment about their strategy during the primary, but a spokesman said that Larson has repeatedly proven his liberal credentials in a wide variety of votes through the decades. That includes voting against the creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency in 2003 and staging a sit-in on the House floor with U.S. Rep. John Lewis after the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in 2016.
“Larson has always been a progressive Democrat — one of the most progressive in the country,” said Ryan Barto, a campaign spokesman. “He was against the Iraq War. He was one of the first to go out against Venezuela. His bonafides are proven. He was out very early on LGBTQ issues. In the state Senate, he was the first person in the nation who got the family and medical leave act passed. He was one of the first co-signers with AOC on the Green New Deal.”
Republican state chairman Ben Proto agreed with Rose that Larson should try to ensure Gilchrest is in a three-way contest in August.
“If I were Larson or running his campaign, I would,” Proto said in an interview. “I think John Larson is a pretty astute politician. I would want her in the race if I’m Larson. Absolutely.”
As the candidates have been butting heads, Proto said the clashes have been growing more apparent.
“The First Congressional race has turned into a rather bloody, intrafamily squabble, which is going to leave a lot of wounded egos and a lot of wounded people who probably won’t survive after May or after August,” Proto said. “It’s kind of fun to sit back and watch the Democrats beat up on each other for a change.”
While Larson is known for his friendly disposition, Proto said that no candidate can be in office for decades without upsetting some constituents.
“John has been around for 27 years in the House and how many before that in the state Senate,” Proto said. “Over that period of time, you acquire a great many chits, but you also acquire a great many enemies, some of whom you don’t even know exist until the [political] knife comes out at the appropriate time.”
Noting the support for Larson by Jeffries, Bronin said that Democrats are instead hungering for a new generation of leaders to battle against Trump.
“Look, incumbents support incumbents. That’s what happens in Washington,” Bronin said. “But with all respect to Leader Jeffries, there’s a strong and rising tide for change in this district, and Democrats are hungry for a new generation of leaders to take on Trump and the MAGA movement and fight for real change in this country. The Democratic Party leadership should be embracing that change rather than fighting it, but if change doesn’t come from the top of our party, it’s going to come from the voters.”
Like Bronin, Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune criticized the appearance of Jeffries as insider politics as usual.
“This visit is the classic ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back’ politics that happens in D.C.,” Fortune said. “House Minority Leader Jeffries wants to re-elect Democrats who will be loyal to him and vote for him as Speaker should Democrats win back the House.”
Republican candidate
The First Congressional District has been dominated by Democrats for the past 65 years, including Larson for the past 27 years and Barbara B. Kennelly for 17 years in the 1980s and 1990s.
The last Republican to win in the district was Edwin H. May Jr., who held the seat for one term after Dwight D. Eisenhower won nationally in 1956. Larson has defeated numerous Republicans, including Matthew Corey and Mary Fay of West Hartford.
This year, Dr. Amy Chai has joined the race and she says she is the first female physician in Connecticut to run for Congress. In 2022, she lost as an independent in a four-way race against U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven.
“The status quo has failed Hartford and cities like it for generations,” Chai said. “We don’t need more rhetoric — we need systems that work. If we can transform Hartford through transparency, prevention, and local empowerment, we can create a model for urban renewal across the nation.”
She says her platform is “centered on radical transparency, economic empowerment, and systemic solutions to challenges that have burdened Hartford and other urban and suburban communities for decades.”
Among other issues, Chai is concerned about addiction, mental illness, poverty, crime, education, literacy, and the reintegration of criminals back into society after they leave prison.
Proto touts Chai’s experience as a medical doctor.
“She’s an interesting lady — very bright, very smart, very articulate,” Proto said. “She is an interesting alternative as health care will be a major issue in the Congressional races.”
Christopher Keating can be reached at [email protected]