HARTFORD, Connecticut — Leola Levy, the first political candidate endorsed by former President Donald Trump, is a Republican in the U.S. Senate in Connecticut on Tuesday. I won the primary election. The victory could indicate where the state's Republican Party, which has favored moderates for years, is headed politically.
Levy, a member of the Republican National Committee, announced in November that U.S. Sen. I plan to confront.
Levy's victory over party-supported candidate and socially moderate former Minority Leader of the State House of Representatives Themis Clarides. She also defeated conservative immigration attorney Peter Rumaji, who had several unsuccessful bids for her public office.
Her 65-year-old Levy immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1960 with her family. Her grandfather was president of her Vertientes-Camaguey Sugar Company in Havana. She graduated from Brown University in 1978 and worked in the financial industry as a commodity trader at Philbro Salomon.
She lives in Greenwich and spends about $1 million on her campaign. are rented out. She used it in an ad attacking Clarides in a battle over who was most likely to beat Blumenthal, conservatives or moderates. Trump expressed her support for Levy last week.
After interacting with supporters at a party in Greenwich on Tuesday night, Levi looked optimistic that he might upset Clarides. "I feel like I'm living a dream," she told WTNH-TV. It's good that I work for them and go to Washington and make real change that makes a difference.I make their lives better."
New State Secretary Secretary-appointed Mark Kohler says polls have been "pretty quiet" in his first election, with only a handful of reports saying some tally machines are "a little heated." Stated. He said the procedure for such situations is to put the ballots in a secure auxiliary bin and count them later.
In Connecticut, no Republican has been elected to the Senate since Lowell P. Weiker.
Republican and former Colchester selection committee member Art Szyloski says he doesn't believe nominating a Trump-backed candidate will finally end the Republican drought. Stated. He also wondered if Trump's endorsement would help Levy.
"No, I don't think it's a good combination," said Siroskey outside the polling place where he voted for Clarides. Told. "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 said she has argued that his legislative experience and moderate stance on issues such as abortion could persuade Connecticut voters to oust Blumenthal, who has been in office since 2011. gas price.
“We won 11 elections in this Democratic state. This is important because Connecticut is a Democratic-leaning state," Clarides said at a recent debate. "I'm a strong, common sense Connecticut Republican. That's how we win elections in this state."
He chose Jamie Stevenson, the party-backed Darien First Selectman, over Michael Goldstein, who is also a lawyer. The winner will challenge Democratic Rep. Jim Himes in his November.
Voters on Tuesday were longtime Secretary of State Dennis, a Democrat who resigned in June to care for her ailing husband. I also chose a candidate to replace Merrill.
In the Republican election campaign, conservative Dominic Rapini (Apple sales executive and party's endorsement candidate) defeated Rep. Terry Wood, a Republican from Darien.
Rapini calls for tougher ID requirements and cleaner state voter rolls. He says he suspects voter fraud, especially in Bridgeport, the state's largest city. There, various state and local officials have been indicted for election fraud over the years. allegedly falsifying voter registration applications and absentee ballot applications.
Rapini is the former chairman of a group called Fight Voter Fraud Inc. , which was founded by a woman who filed dozens of complaints about alleged voter fraud during the 2020 election in Connecticut. 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 has also voiced her support for Connecticut's new voter ID law.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk defeated New Haven Health Commissioner Maritza 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, it's people like my mom that they're targeting," she said in her recent commercial.
Democrats also voted to nominate Eric Russell, a lawyer specializing in local government finances, to the post of State Treasurer, which Democrat Sean Wooden is leaving. Russell opposed Dita Bhargava, chief operating officer of the private investment fund, and Karen DuBois Walton, who oversees the Housing Authority in New Haven.
