Connecticut’s delegations to the Democratic and Republican national conventions are reflections of the parties’ relative strengths and weaknesses in a state where Joe Biden offers few of the complications that Donald J. Trump poses for the GOP.
Gov. Ned Lamont will lead a Democratic delegation to Chicago dominated by office holders who have little to fear about an association with Biden, who beat Trump in Connecticut by 20 percentage points in 2020.
Republicans finalized their delegate list the night before jurors in New York began deliberations that will determine if Trump accepts the Republican nomination in Milwaukee as a convicted felon, perhaps awaiting sentencing.
By virtue of their positions, the Democrats’ two U.S. senators, five U.S. House members, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of the state, comptroller, treasurer and attorney general were assured spots as delegates.
None of the Republican candidates for Congress are delegates or alternates. The only lawmakers are state Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding of Brookfield and Reps. Cara Pavalock-D’Amato and Joe Hoxha, both of Bristol.
Harding supports Trump’s return to the White House but said his attendance at the convention is more about other party business, including networking he hopes will help Senate Republicans hold their seats, or blunt losses, in a difficult year.
“I just think it is a way to meet people within the party, statewide, and make connections for our caucus across the state,” said Harding, who took over leadership of the caucus in an unprecedented midterm fight.
Republicans hold only 12 of the 36 seats in the Senate, and four of the 12 won in 2022 with less than 51% of the vote.
The elections since Trump won the White House in 2016 have been uniformly good for Democrats. With Trump on the ballot that year, Republicans captured half the seats in the Senate and came within five seats of a House majority.
But the 2018 midterms were a disaster for the GOP in Connecticut.
Using Trump as an organizing foil, Democrats generated an unusually strong turnout that produced a sweep of every statewide office on the ballot, all five U.S. House seats and strong majorities in a General Assembly where the GOP had known only gains in the previous four elections.
Convention attendance means different things to different people, ranging from being a reward for the party faithful to an opportunity to support a favored candidate.
In 2016, Trump drew many newbies into politics, some of whom were rewarded with trips to the convention in Cleveland. For varying reasons, most are not going to Milwaukee.
Charles Bruckerhoff of Chaplin traveled around the U.S. eight years ago, his route dictated by the GOP primary schedule, allowing him to campaign for Trump. He had nearly a front-row seat in Cleveland when Trump accepted the nomination. Not so this year.
“I maintain my interest and support for Trump,” Bruckerhoff said Thursday.
Bruckerhoff, 76, had a stroke five years ago and still has mobility challenges, even though he has since written a novel and three children’s books. He expressed interest in becoming a delegate again but concluded that navigating a crowded convention floor was inadvisable.
Other Trump partisans from 2016 will be there: Linda McMahon of Greenwich, a two-time U.S. Senate candidate in Connecticut who served in the Trump cabinet, is a delegate, one of the “must-have” delegates the Trump campaign gave to the Connecticut Republicans.
Others include former Waterbury Mayor Joseph Santopietro and his brother, Jeffrey; former state Rep. Tony D’Amelio of Waterbury, the first member of the General Assembly to endorse Trump in 2016; Annalisa Stravato of Wilton and Andy Wainright of Stamford, state central committee members who also were early Trumpers; and Jason Manafort, whose family owns Manafort Brothers, the regional construction company.
He is related to Paul Manafort, who chaired Trump’s 2016 campaign.
Stravato won an election Tuesday night to succeed Leora Levy on the Republican National Committee. But Levy’s term does not expire until January, and she will be a delegate in Milwaukee as an RNC member. Her husband, Steven Levy, will be an alternate.
Aside from those who are given a place by virtue of their elected office, Democrats select their delegates at competitive caucuses. Republican delegates are chosen by the party and campaign leadership, the choices ratified by the state central committee.
Republican State Chair Ben Proto said some of the delegates were chosen as a reward for years as party activists.
“We don’t have contested conventions anymore,” Proto said. “But if you’ve never done it before, it’s very exciting. The electricity in the building, it’s something you’ll never experience. You should do it once.”