Like many newly appointed state senate minority leaders across the country, Republican State Sen.Rob Sampson is busying himself in the runup to the start of the legislative session. But for now, Sampson is doing some housekeeping, after his party suffered historic losses in the midterm election.
“A lot of things are up in the air until we determine what our caucus budget will be, and we're going to conduct some internal reviews, talk to our department heads, etc., and revamp maybe the way the Senate Republican operation works,” Sampson said. “But it's premature to say that we have a full plan on what we're going to do in our office.
The Democrats already held the majority of state legislature seats before Election Day. According to Sampson, it means it doesn’t actually change much about his day to day activities in the state senate, but he reassured his constituents he and along with the remaining Republican legislators will continue to call out Democratic policies they’re opposed to.
Three state senators, including Sampson, are all that’s left of the Connecticut Senate Republicans. Democrats are expected to control 33 out of 36 state senate seats.
As for the State House of Representatives, Democrats are expected to control 111 seats compared to 40 Republican seats, according to previous reporting by the CT Mirror.
Sampson and Connecticut Republican Party chair Ben Proto, say there are still ways to advocate for GOP policies and rebound.
But they acknowledge their party has become unpopular due to its ties to President Donald Trump, whose approval rating has reached a near career low, due primarily to voter frustration over cost- of- living concerns, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos Poll.
Sampson and Senate Republican Leader Pro Tempore, State Sen. Eric Berthel, issued a joint statement cautioning voters that President Donald Trump did not directly cause some of the cost-of-living issues, which stated in part: .
“We will challenge bad legislation, demand answers, and expose government overreach.” Sampson and Berthel said. “We will make sure Connecticut residents understand exactly what is happening inside their State Capitol, what their elected officials are proposing, how they are voting, and what those decisions mean for their families. We will document the path they take, vote by vote.”
Sampson also said voters hoping for a fix on affordability issues may be in for a rude awakening.
“The number one issues in the state of Connecticut still revolve around affordability, the cost of living, gas prices, utility rates,” Sampson said “I think those are the main reasons why people cast a vote in this election. I think those are the main things affecting the people of Connecticut, and I think they, frankly, made a mistake by supporting the Democratic majority.”
Connecticut Democrats have pushed back on those claims over the course of the election. According to a previous statement in October by, Ian Clarke, senior communications advisor for the Connecticut Democratic Party, much of the blame lies with federal policies attacking the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and cutting funding for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid.
Meanwhile, Proto said he’s optimistic Republicans can rebound after their losses. But he also said many voters simply refused to vote for incumbent Republicans due to national politics.
“I think it was an indication that people are not happy with what's happening in Washington,” Proto said. “They're not happy with things like the war. They're not happy with the tariffs. They're not happy with oil prices and gas prices.”
But Proto didn’t dwell on his party’s misfortune for too long.
“When you're handed a situation like this, you can look at it two ways,” Proto said. “You can look at it and go sit in a corner and pout, or you can look at it and say, ‘okay, there's an opportunity, and the opportunity to build, the opportunity to move forward, the opportunity to find new ways to victory,” Proto said.
That road to victory, according to Proto, includes getting more people to run for office, but it also means potentially playing Democrats off against each other. Proto and other Republicans are now highlighting possible Democratic infighting, as the more moderate and left-wing factions of the party consider whether or not to tax wealthier residents.
For now, Proto said the state GOP will focus on shoring up support for local races next year.
“It's going to be recruiting candidates to run for municipal offices,” Proto said. “Mayor, for selectmen, local legislative boards, boards of education, planning and zoning, police commissions, fire commissions, things along those lines.”
Some Republican candidates were ambivalent on their own chances even before the races were called on Election Day. Emily Hau ran for a state representative seat in Fairfield, challenging Democratic incumbent Jennifer Leeper. Hau, who works as an Associate Director of the Yale Institute for Foundations of Data Science (FDS) said she was driven by local issues like zoning control.
But she admitted in the hours before the races were called, it was hard to separate herself from Trump.
“I have done my best to be embraced by the hearts and minds in Fairfield in the way that I embrace them, but I can't make them think a certain way,” Hau said.
Leeper kept her seat.
