This story has been updated.
A political action committee that supports Democratic military veterans seeking office is giving Luke Bronin a major boost in his campaign for Congress with a nearly $1 million ad campaign, making it the first foray by an outside group into the four-way primary for Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District.
VoteVets’ ad buy in support of the former Hartford mayor starts Tuesday and will run through the Aug. 11 primary on cable and broadcast in the Hartford and New Haven media markets. Bronin is one of three Democratic candidates running against U.S. Rep. John Larson, who is seeking a 15th term to his Hartford-based seat.
The ad campaign is notable, not just in the size of the buy but also because it’s one of the rare instances of the group investing in a primary against a long-time incumbent in a safe blue district. All other VoteVets endorsements in House races this cycle are for Democratic incumbents running for reelection or Democrats running for open seats or taking on Republicans — races that could determine the balance of power in Congress.
VoteVets’ ad hits on many of the same themes as Bronin’s own ads: his biography as a Navy veteran, criticism of President Donald Trump and a call for new leadership in Congress. Bronin is a U.S. Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan in 2010.
The ad makes subtle but indirect jabs at Larson, arguing that Bronin will “take on the corruption in Washington” by rejecting donations from corporate political action committees and pushing for fresh leadership in D.C.
The 30-second spot also targets Trump, flashing to a New York Times story about the president making money since his return to office and a clip of Trump embracing a May report showing the rise in the consumer price index amid the war with Iran.
“With Donald Trump making billions and Congress doing absolutely nothing,” the ad’s narrator says against the backdrop of the sound of crickets, “we need new energy and new leadership.”
“Trump corruption has taken over Washington, and Congress needs new leadership and new energy to right the ship. That’s Luke Bronin,” said VoteVets senior advisor Max Rose, a former Democratic congressman from New York. “From weeding out corruption in the military to reforming Hartford’s finances, Luke has spent his entire career fighting for the underdog. He’s the right candidate at the right time for central Connecticut families.”
Bronin secured an endorsement in January from VoteVets PAC, which has had big-name donors over the years and past support from groups aligned with Democratic leadership in the House and Senate. The group does independent political spending on behalf of candidates but cannot coordinate with them.
Its affiliated, but separate, group is VoteVets Action Fund, a 501c(4) nonprofit organization that isn’t required to disclose its donors. The ad buy on behalf of Bronin is through VoteVets and not its action fund.
VoteVets, which was established in 2006, commissioned a poll in May showing Bronin ahead. Larson also has an internal poll from earlier in the year that shows him up. But there has been no public polling on the four-way primary.
When VoteVets endorsed Bronin, the group indicated it would spend big in Connecticut. During the last election cycle, VoteVets spent $50 million on behalf of its endorsed candidates. So far in this cycle, VoteVets has also played heavily in other races, like Iowa’s contentious Democratic primary for an open U.S. Senate seat.
Bronin has also been endorsed by Pete Buttigieg, a former presidential candidate who served as transportation secretary during the Biden administration. Buttigieg and Bronin are longtime friends with similar biographies: Navy veterans, Rhodes Scholars and former mayors. VoteVets endorsed Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential run and spent millions on the race.
The ads that have been broadcast in Connecticut so far have been funded by the candidates, not outside money.
Larson’s own TV ads frame the race as an ideological fight between him and Bronin. The ad takes issue with billionaires and donors affiliated with tech contributing to Bronin’s campaign and highlights the congressman’s support for progressive policies in Congress.
“From public housing to the House of Representatives, John Larson fights for us, because he’s one of us,” the ad’s narrator says.
For Bronin, it’s generational. Bronin’s first campaign ad called out Larson for serving in Congress for decades but also seeks to be more of an introduction to voters on his bio.
Campaign fundraising is largely defining the primary. Wealthy donors have individually contributed to both campaigns, but Bronin has focused on Larson’s corporate PAC money while the congressman has noted his challenger’s fundraising from billionaires.
In a statement sent after the story was originally published, Larson’s campaign pushed back on the ad campaign, noting that many of the groups supporting the former mayor “are funded by the same billionaires maxing out to Bronin’s campaign, some of whom even put him on their payroll.”
“Larson is hellbent on making the billionaire class pay their fair share, and no amount of corporate dark money spending will make him back down,” Larson campaign spokesperson Bee Ungar said. “He is fighting for Medicare for All and has spent his career fighting for working families over CEOs. He’s written campaign finance reforms that would shut down this kind of corporate spending that silences voters’ voices.”
Larson’s campaign argued that the spending could have been used to support a Democratic candidate running to flip a Republican-held House seat, “but they’re throwing millions into this district to unseat a progressive, pro-labor champion because they know he can’t be bought.”
Larson and his team have highlighted Bronin’s work as a paid consultant for The Connecticut Project, a progressive advocacy group that’s funded by billionaire hedge fund manager Stephen Mandel.
Mandel has also donated to The Bench, a newer PAC that’s primarily endorsed Democratic candidates who could help flip the House majority but also backs Bronin in the deep-blue Hartford-based seat. Mandel and his wife Susan have donated to VoteVets, and they have contributed individual donations to Bronin’s campaign.
Larson has argued that Bronin has been a beneficiary of “dark money” networks that are backed by wealthy funders working against his priorities in Congress.
“They’re out to privatize Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, etc. and see that it remains the same. The very things I’m fighting for, they’re going against,” Larson said in an interview last week.
The groups backing Bronin don’t have those positions, and neither does Bronin. And he’s defended his work with The Connecticut Project and has criticized Larson for taking corporate PAC money, which has made up half of his fundraising.
“It’s just an extraordinary attack, not just against me but against an organization that’s doing work that I think is pretty clearly aligned with progressive values,” Bronin said in a recent interview. “I think there’s just a huge difference between a corporate PAC supporting candidates and individuals supporting candidates in their individual capacity.”
The winner of the primary will be virtually guaranteed the seat since it’s the most Democratic congressional district in Connecticut.
The other candidates — West Hartford state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest and Hartford Board of Education member Ruth Fortune — are unlikely to go on the air since they’re far behind in fundraising compared to Larson and Bronin.
Gilchrest, who’s focused on canvassing as a way to reach voters, told The Connecticut Mirror she’ll do digital ads on streaming platforms and possibly one mailer.
Note: Stephen Mandel is a donor and The Connecticut Project is a funder of The Connecticut Mirror.
