Facing his toughest election in more than two decades, U.S. Rep. John B. Larson brought the top House Democratic leader to Hartford on Thursday night to rally the troops as he prepares for a highly competitive primary.
House leader Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, N.Y. delivered a pep talk to more than 200 Larson supporters as Larson is battling in a four-way Democratic primary after holding his seat for 27 years.
“You can’t ask for a better champion for the caucus, the Congress, the country, the constitution, and the great state of Connecticut,” Jeffries told the crowd. “It’s such an important occasion that I brought the alliteration – for John Larson. That’s how much he means to me. That’s how much he means to the House Democratic caucus.”
After his speech, Jeffries told reporters that he wants to make sure that Larson is reelected to office as Democrats anticipate that they will win back the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the November election.
“This is an all-hands-on deck moment,” Jeffries told reporters. “At this moment in time, we’ve got to make sure that one of the great members of the House Democratic caucus, John Larson, who is a tremendous champion for this community … is part of the team as we tackle issues decisively in the back half of the Trump presidency.”
The speech by Jeffries was briefly interrupted by protesters, including one who walked toward the stage while shouting that Congress should abolish the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, known as ICE, and also must “end the genocide in Palestine.” A uniformed Hartford police officer who was at the event said that no arrest was necessary because the protesters left the event without causing any further disturbance.
Larson, 77, is running in a hotly contested race against three younger candidates in former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest of West Hartford, and Hartford attorney Ruth Fortune.
Following the rally, Larson and Jeffries left for a fundraising dinner at The Foundry restaurant at the top of the Hartford Steam Boiler building – a frequent location for fundraisers when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to town.
At the same time as Larson’s event, Gilchrest held a meet-and-greet gathering at J Bar at Colt, which was within walking distance of the Jeffries appearance at the famed Colt Building in Hartford.
“Connecticut has a front-row seat tonight to the broken politics of Washington,” Gilchrest said shortly before the events. “Leader Jeffries and Democrats in D.C. have told working people for years that if they just give Democrats more money, they’ll fight back next time. ‘Next time’ never comes. Nothing will change until we elect people who refuse to play by the old rules. I hope Leader Jeffries enjoys Connecticut — and that once the checks clear, Congress can finally get to work.”
Gilchrest had sharply criticized the Jeffries fundraiser in an op-ed earlier this week in The Hartford Courant. Larson’s fundraiser was held later and separately from the rally at the Colt building, which was free of charge for the crowd of Democratic supporters.
“It’s an opportunity to have your voice heard and influence the policies that shape American life, provided that you pay an entry fee,” Gilchrest wrote about the Jeffries appearance. “The only way this changes is by electing different kinds of people to Congress. That’s why I’m running.”
Before he attended his own event, Larson suddenly appeared at Gilchrest’s gathering – and followed Gilchrest’s request to her supporters to donate feminine hygiene products to the Hartford chapter of the non-profit, Dignity Grows.
Bronin, too, was not impressed with Jeffries’ trip to Hartford.
“With all respect to Leader Jeffries,” Bronin said, “the Democratic Party would be stronger if our leadership spent less time protecting people who’ve been in Congress for decades and more time working to lift up a new generation of Democrats to help us build a stronger, more energetic, more effective Democratic Party.”
In that vein, Bronin’s most recent endorsement came from the College Democrats that Bronin says highlights the growing movement for a generational shift in the party.
“Connecticut’s College Democrats are sending a powerful message about what younger Democrats want to see from their party, starting with leaders who actually listen to and understand what they’re facing,” Bronin said. “Younger Americans are looking at a world where housing costs are out of control, the job market’s getting tougher, artificial intelligence is about to make things a lot more complicated. They’re starting out with debt, young women have fewer rights than their mothers did, wealth keeps getting more and more concentrated at the top, and it seems like most political leaders just keep doing the same thing over and over. If the Democratic Party is going to turn things around, then we need to build a much stronger, more energized coalition, and that includes giving younger voters a real voice as part of it.”
Fortune was the third Democrat who criticized Jeffries.
“This visit is the classic ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back’ politics that happens in DC,” 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. Congressman Larson said in a Torrington Democratic Town Committee meeting last week that Jeffries promised Social Security will be a top priority if Democrats win back the House. It’s remarkable that after 28 years in Congress, all Congressman Larson has delivered on his signature issue – Social Security – is that it will be a top priority. I hope he can make it so, but I won’t hold my breath.”
National figure in Hartford
Since becoming the Democratic leader in November 2022, Jeffries has increased his national profile.
Jeffries has taken a more aggressive stance recently against President Donald Trump since Trump released pictures of Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. Trump has not apologized for sharing the controversial video that has since been deleted.
Using an expletive, Jeffries criticized Trump “and his vile, racist, and malignant behavior” regarding the Obamas.
“This so-called president and serial fraudster must be stripped of his power,” Jeffries wrote in a fundraising email to supporters. “We must band together with a surge of support and win back the House in November. There is no other option. Democrats must end this national nightmare once and for all. … Trump’s mid-decade gerrymandering scheme has fallen apart. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report just announced 18 House districts moved in Democrats’ direction. Even a new Fox News poll admits that ‘Democratic support is the highest recorded for either party.’ ”
Jeffries, whose mother is from Bristol, traveled to Hartford in June 2024 as the keynote speaker for the biggest Democratic fundraising dinner of the year with 900 Democrats as he complimented the entire Congressional delegation at the beginning of his speech.
“My partner, my friend, my sister, Jahana Hayes. We’re going to make sure that she goes back in November because she’s doing an amazing job,” Jeffries told the cheering crowd as Hayes had been unsuccessfully targeted for defeat by Republicans.
The issue of age has come up in the campaign at a time when many Democrats remain concerned that President Joe Biden stayed in the race too long and helped contribute to Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss to Republican Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential race.
The 77-year-old Larson is facing Bronin, 46, along with 43-year-old Gilchrest and 37-year-old Fortune.
Christopher Keating can be reached at [email protected]