Free Republic

Donald Trump’s long reach, effectively anointing political newcomer Leora Levy to challenge second-term U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, has changed the face of the Connecticut Republican Party while insinuating MAGA grievances into the entire fall campaign for governor, top-of-the-ticket constitutional officers and the 187-seat General Assembly. Political scientists in the state said that while Trump’s late-campaign support in blue-state Connecticut was surprising, it’s always the party base that is most-energized for primaries and Levy channeled it to handily defeat party-endorsed Themis Klarides, the former state House minority leader who won the endorsement at the May conventions. “The Trump effect was as...

Leora Levy won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Tuesday. Levy defeated her two Republican challengers Themis Klarides and Peter Lumaj. ... Levy will take on take on Senator Richard Blumenthal in November. Last week Levy, who is a Greenwich businesswoman, got the endorsement from former President Donald Trump. ... Today, voters across Connecticut sent a clear message that they are ready for a political outsider to fight for the families, taxpayers, small businesses and the hardworking people of our great state. Forty-year high inflation, record gas prices, failing energy policies, an invasion at our southern border, an assault on...

"I think that the endorsement is a net positive for Leora, but probably too little and too late," said one Connecticut GOP consultant who requested anonymity. "His endorsement came Thursday night, so too late for any direct mail pieces to hit before Tuesday. Sure, she's been texting and pumping it through social media, but I do not think it will saturate enough to make enough of a difference. "If this was a month ago, I'd be concerned if I was Themis, but at this point, I think it is probably too late." Another factor working in Klarides' favor is that...