Ned Lamont secured the endorsement of Connecticut’s Democratic Party on Saturday as the two-term governor prepares to campaign for another term leading the state.
Delegates at the Democratic state convention — at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford — rallied around Lamont on Saturday as their favored choice to maintain the party’s grip on the governor’s mansion, which it has held since 2011.
But in order for Lamont to become the Democratic nominee in November, he will need to beat state Rep. Josh Elliott, D-Hamden, in a head-to-head primary election later this year.
More than 25% of the delegates at the state convention voted for Elliott, which was more than enough support to earn him a spot on the primary ballot in August. The final delegate count was 1,468 for Lamont and 501 for Elliott.
While accepting the endorsement Saturday, Lamont cited several major accomplishments during his first eight years in office, including passage of a paid family medical leave program, the state paying down its massive pension debt and the creation of an early childhood trust fund.
Lamont spent more time focused on President Donald Trump and Connecticut Republicans than addressing the critiques of his Democratic challenger though. His focus was already on the General Election in November, where he will face Republican State Sen. Ryan Fazio.
Lamont spoke at length about Trump’s cuts to federal SNAP benefits, his immigration enforcement tactics and the cost of the war in Iran. And he called on Elliott’s supporters to rally behind him.
“We’re challenging one of the most dangerous and extreme and corrupt presidents in my life time. And I’ve been around for a while,” Lamont said. “And this is why, sooner rather than later, Democrats need to be united, stand tall and show what we are made of.”
Kayla Reasco, who gave one of the nominating speeches for Lamont, tried to call for Democrats to unite around him too, but it was not received well by everyone in the room.
“Right now, as we speak, Republicans are gathering around a single candidate and hoping for a divided Democratic Party,” Reasco said.
Elliott, who has served in the General Assembly since 2017 and is a member of the state legislature’s Progressive Caucus, visited the Democratic Town Committees in 135 of Connecticut’s 169 towns ahead of the convention.
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While Lamont and his running mate Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz won the party’s official endorsement, Elliott said he believes his campaign has more energy and enthusiasm — which he hopes will translate into votes when the nearly 800,000 active Democratic voters in Connecticut go to the polls this summer.
Elliott is delivering a blunt message to those voters. He argues that Lamont, a multimillionaire from Greenwich, can’t properly represent everyone in Connecticut. And he has repeatedly pointed out that Lamont has been unwilling to raise taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents, particularly those in Fairfield County.
State Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, delivered the nominating speech for Elliott at the convention, and called for Democrats to stand up for the working poor.
“People can no longer settle for a Democratic Party that is just good enough. We can no longer settle for a Democratic Party that is afraid to tax the top 1%,” Anwar said to an enthusiastic round of applause.
Outside the convention in Hartford, Elliott’s supporters shouted at delegates that “voters deserve a choice.”
Before the delegate votes were tallied, they also raised chants of, “Tax the rich!”
That message didn’t convince everyone at the convention, though.
Geoff and Maureen Bartlett, two delegates from Ridgefield, said they voted to endorse Lamont because he has led with a steady hand, especially when it comes to the state budget.
They said he has also brought a sense of decency to the office, at a time when national politics is anything but.
Warren Godbolt, a delegate from Bridgeport, also said he was solidly behind Lamont because the governor “says what is on his mind” and because the governor backed a plan this year that sent an additional $35 million in school funding to Bridgeport.
But State Rep. Steven Winter, D-New Haven, said those additional education payments to towns and cities throughout Connecticut was only nibbling around the edges. Winter backed Elliott at the convention, he said, because he believes bigger efforts are needed to address “entrenched poverty” and the stark educational divides in Connecticut.
Winter said he appreciated Lamont willingness in his first eight years to support policies like a paid family medical leave program. And he credited Lamont for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. But he said he prefers Elliott because he is committed to fully reforming the state’s tax policy and the state’s education cost sharing formula, which he said Lamont has been reluctant to do.
A long list of state legislators support Lamont’s run for a third term.
That included state Rep. Greg Haddad, D-Mansfield, who said he believes Lamont is the most electable candidate in November. “The fall election is not to be taken for granted,” Haddad, who has served in the legislature since 2011, said.
Haddad said the Democratic legislature doesn’t always get everything it wants with Lamont in the governor’s office. But he said Lamont has an open door policy with members of the General Assembly and is open to negotiation. Just this week, Hadaad said Lamont announced additional state funding for the University of Connecticut, which is in his district, in order to backfill funding cut by President Donald Trump’s administration.
Other delegates at the convention were not satisfied with a governor who only goes along with his fellow Democrats most of the time, however.
Eric Weiner, a delegate from Windsor, said he was supporting Elliott because he wanted a governor willing to push more progressive policies.
“I want to see a governor who will take advantage of the Democratic supermajorities in the legislature,” Weiner said.
Weiner, who was wearing a bright pink shirt with Elliott’s name on it, said Lamont has not shown a willingness to tackle difficult issues, like property tax reform or creating a public health insurance option in the state.
The governor’s race was the only contested contest at the statewide convention. For all of the other statewide offices, Democrats unanimously endorsed the incumbent office holders. That included Attorney General William Tong, Treasurer Erick Russell, Comptroller Sean Scanlon and Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas.
That slate of Democratic candidates will face John Bolton of Westport for attorney general, Peter Lumaj of Fairfield who is running for secretary of the state, Jen Tooker of Westport who was endorsed by Republicans for comptroller and Fred Wilms of Norwalk who is campaigning for Treasurer.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
