Democratic State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest of West Hartford formally launched a campaign for Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, joining a field of Democratic candidates who are looking to unseat 14-term incumbent John Larson.
Gilchrest, 43, who unseated an incumbent member of her party in 2018 to join the Connecticut General Assembly, had been expected to announce her candidacy for the U.S. House seat for weeks after several others, including former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, lined up to challenge Larson.
During a press event in West Hartford on Tuesday, Gilchrest said she was primarying Larson, who is 77, because the federal government is in a state of emergency and because the Democratic Party’s existing leadership is partially to blame for the crisis the country finds itself in.
“I first ran for office because I wasn’t willing to wait to bring the change Connecticut needed,” Gilchrest said during her campaign kickoff in West Hartford. “I feel that same urgency today.”
Gilchrest directed much of her ire towards the sitting Republican president and the Republican majorities in Congress.
“What the Trump administration is doing right now is cruel, destructive and dangerous. They are destroying our democracy, obliterating justice and erasing our freedoms. They are slashing Medicaid, public education, food assistance and child care, using lies and hate to distract us while they take our tax dollars to benefit themselves,” Gilchrest said.
But Gilchrest, who is in her fourth term in the state legislature, did not shy away from criticizing members of her own party.
“Unfortunately, the Republicans aren’t the only ones to blame for where we are as a country,” she said. “We’ve lived through a generation of politics where donors came first and working people came last. I’m asking you to believe in a different kind of politics and a different kind of campaign. We can’t bring the change we need by doing the exact same things the exact same way.”
She explicitly said that Larson has contributed to the problems she sees in the Democratic Party. And she said not enough has been done in the past to address stagnant wages as well as rising housing and health care costs.
“I respect Congressman Larson,” Gilchrest said. “I appreciate the work he has done, but I think we need elected officials who can work on multiple issues at the same time and can be out there pushing for change every single day, and I don’t see that happening currently.”
Larson, who’s gearing up to run for a 15th term in his Hartford-based district, did not mention his newest opponent by name and said he’s currently focused on his constituents and pushback to the administration.
“It’s a democracy. We welcome anyone who wants to run. I’m focused on fighting Trump and doing the work for the people of this district every day,” Larson said in a statement.
Larson, who has stepped up his political events over the past couple of months, has represented the 1st Congressional District since 1999. During his tenure, he climbed the ranks of leadership, serving as the House Democratic Caucus chairman from 2009 to 2013 at a time when Democrats were pushing for the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
For Larson, the potential for Democrats to regain control of the House in 2026 could sweep him back into the top leadership role on the Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee. He currently serves as the ranking member and has made the issue of Social Security — and his long push to expand it — a key part of his career and why he wants to serve in Congress for at least another two years.
“It takes work. It takes effort. It takes a plan. We’ve got them, and we’re going to deliver on it. When you run for public office, it’s about what you’ve been able to deliver, what you’re currently working on today, and what your vision is for the future,” Larson said at a press event in East Hartford last month after Bronin announced. “What was Mr. Bronin’s?”
Gilchrest joins a growing list of contenders seeking to take on a long-time incumbent who hasn’t faced a primary in decades. Bronin, 46, along with Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune, 37, and Southington Councilman Jack Perry, 35, all entered the race in July.
The swelling field of candidates will all be vying for the party endorsement during next year’s Democratic convention, or at the very least will be seeking to receive at least 15% support from the convention delegates in order to secure an automatic spot on the primary ballot in August.
Gilchrest’s announcement was timed with Women’s Equality Day, underscoring what will likely be a key part of her campaign as the head of the Reproductive Rights Caucus in the state legislature and the former director of Pro-Choice Connecticut.
Her political coming-of-age happened at the height of President Donald Trump’s first term as Democrats made electoral gains both at the federal and state level in 2018. Before running for office, she was one of the organizers of the Connecticut Women’s March.
Both Gilchrest and Bronin are no strangers to unseating incumbents in upstart challenges. In his first mayoral campaign in 2015, Bronin unseated incumbent Mayor Pedro Segarra and went on to serve two terms in Hartford before declining to run for a third. Gilchrest, meanwhile, defeated 12-term incumbent Andy Fleischmann in 2018 and has served the 18th House District since.
Larson hasn’t faced a primary challenge in years, but he first came to Congress by winning a close primary in his first election against then-Secretary of the State Miles Rapoport to succeed Barbara Kennelly, who was leaving federal politics to run for governor.
Since jumping into the race, Bronin has offered a more measured approach when discussing why he wants to run against a sitting congressman with less pointed criticism.
“I respect people who’ve served in Congress for decades, but at a certain point it’s just time to let some new voices in,” Bronin said in his campaign announcement video last month.
On Tuesday, Gilchrest was not as gentle in her messaging about Larson and the current makeup of Congress.
“Washington has spent too long telling us to wait our turn, lower our expectations or accept that this is just the way it is. I don’t accept that, and neither should you. If we want to change how Washington works, we need to change who works for us in Washington,” Gilchrest said.
Like her opponents, Gilchrest is similarly focused on the future at a time when Democrats are grappling with the direction of the party and how to respond to the policies of Trump. More Democrats across the U.S. are challenging sitting members because they want to see generational change and aren’t waiting for them to retire. But incumbents like Larson come with built-in advantages like name recognition as well as years of experience and established working relationships.
Larson’s health became an issue earlier this year. He suffered a “complex partial seizure” in February, causing him to freeze and abruptly stop speaking while delivering a speech on the floor of the U.S. House. He had a similar occurrence, albeit briefer, at a press conference in April.
“I spoke to my doctors out of precaution and have been assured by my medical providers that I am on the appropriate therapy and while I understand your concern, I assure you that I am fine and am continuing to follow medical advice,” he said after the April incident.
Bronin has an advantage thus far — at least in the money race. He raised over $800,000 two weeks after he jumped into the race, according to figures provided by his campaign last month. Bronin made a pledge not to accept money from corporate political action committees and called on Larson and others to do the same.
Larson’s most recent filing from July showed he had about $262,000 in his campaign account. (That filing covered April through June, before he had any primary challenges).
All declared candidates will need to submit the next quarterly fundraising filing in mid-October, which will provide the first real look at the financial health of each campaign. For some candidates, raising the funds necessary to compete in a competitive primary and afford things like television ads will be more challenging.
“I understand that the fundraising is important, and so when given a task, I work really hard. But if we only allowed people who had money to be in office, we’d continue to be where we are, where special interests and the wealthy are leading this country,” Gilchrest said.
“Instead of chasing dollars from well-connected donors, we’ll be in neighborhoods talking to voters who feel abandoned by Washington,” she added. “Instead of poll-tested talking points, I’m interested in understanding people’s lived experiences and translating that into effective public policy.”
As the field of challengers now grows to four, Bronin’s team said it underscores his argument that there’s an appetite for generational change. But they argue that Bronin, a Navy veteran, former member of the Obama administration and mayor of Hartford, is the person who “has experience that no other candidate can match.”
“The fact that new candidates are testing the waters against John Larson reinforces the point that Luke’s been making, which is that there’s a deep desire for change in the Democratic Party and everyone can feel it,” Amanda Sands, a member of Bronin’s campaign team, said in a statement. “This is a moment of crisis and urgency, and we need leaders who will stand up effectively to Trump and refocus the Democratic Party on making our economy work for working families and the middle class.”
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
