According to Connecticut Democratic Party Chair Roberto Alves, Connecticut Democratic voters cast ballots in lock step with Gov. Ned Lamont during Tuesday’s primary election.
“Governor Lamont and Democrats have worked together to put Connecticut on a stronger footing, lower taxes for working families, protect our rights, and move our state forward.” Alves said. “Voters know what results and responsible leadership looks like, and they chose it again tonight.”
Political analysts from Connecticut College and Fairfield University say other Democratic primaries around the state could reflect ideological differences, and a desire to replace older politicians with relatively younger candidates within the Connecticut Democratic Party as well.
While the analyst’s views differ on how much of a factor ideology and age played in various statewide races, both say former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin’s victory over long-time Rep. John Larson, echoes interest in cultivating younger leadership within the Democratic Party.
C. Mara Suttmann-Lea, is a government and international relations professor at Connecticut College. Suttmann-Lea said it's still unclear if voters are trending left, or if they simply want younger politicians to take over.
“I think the big question that a lot of Democrats are asking right now are: Can progressive candidates win or is it really just that voters are looking for what we might call a generational change,” Suttmann-Lea said.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro ran unopposed during the primary election and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, wasn't on the ballot, because his term doesn't expire until 2028.
DeLauro and Blumenthal are both in their 80s. Suttmann-Lea is interested in seeing how DeLauro and Blumenthal react to Bronin's victory over Larson, as the Democratic Party continues to grapple with nationwide calls to replace older politicians with younger ones.
"I think that this is this is one of those areas where you see that particular race between Bronin and Larson reflecting a broader conversation that's happening in the Democratic Party of do we need young voices, younger voices," Suttmann-Lea said. "Some say yes, some say no, and this is a conversation that is playing out across the country."
Yet, Gov. Ned Lamont, who is one of the oldest Democratic governors in the country, won handily.
Suttmann-Lea believes Lamont won, due to an incumbency advantage. They also believe voters remember Lamont’s leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic, and when the state gained a large budget surplus.
“The question I often ask when I'm teaching or when I'm doing this work is, was it the campaign or was it the context,” Suttmann-Lea said. “And I think in the case of someone like Ned Lamont, it really is a lot about the context as well as the record that he has to run on.”
Lamont won nearly 70% of the vote, compared to his challenger Josh Elliott who won a little over 32%, according to the Associated Press.
But two high-profile races ended up kicking out long serving Democratic incumbents.
State Sen. Doug McCrory was defeated by State Rep. Maryam Khan, and Rep. John Larson lost to primary challenger and former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
Bronin said he won in part because voters were looking for change.
“People recognize that Congress shouldn't be a lifetime job, that we would be stronger as a Democratic Party and we'd be stronger as a country if you have more renewal, if you had new perspectives coming in,” Bronin said.
Gayle Alberda, a political science professor at Fairfield University, said Baby Boomers are no longer the largest voting bloc by age.
They are being replaced by millennials and Generation Z voters, many who may not agree with moderate political stances.
“Everybody goes into politics, for a specific reason, and being a leader is an amazing position when you are in Congress or in the state legislature,” Alberda said. “But it also can put you out of touch with voters because again, it's not that their ideas are necessarily bad. It's that they're of a different generation, and the largest voting bloc really is the millennial voters.”
But Suttmann-Lea said the primary election has yet to reveal whether Connecticut voters are ideologically motivated to replace incumbents or simply want younger candidates.
Khan was endorsed by the CT Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).
But Suttmann-Lea cautioned against reading too much into Khan’s victory, noting that McCrory is currently facing federal investigation over his role in disbursing funds to several nonprofits, including one that abruptly shut its doors due to wire fraud.
“There were other things that were tainting his campaign, for lack of a better way of putting it. So I would be really circumspect about making that claim more forcefully,” Suttmann-Lea said.
