(Update) Two leading Connecticut politicians of yore — former New Haven Mayor Toni Harp and former state Democratic Chairman Ed Marcus — would have co-chaired Mike Bloomberg’s presidential campaign in the state.
If Bloomberg had been continued running for the Democratic nomination.
Bloomberg’s campaign issued a release Wednesday naming the pair as the state co-chairs.
Hours later Bloomberg announced he’s suspending his campaign and endorsing Joe Biden instead.
His final Connecticut decision would have brought two once-prominent political figures back into the limelight.
Marcus, a former state senator as well as party chair, played an influential role in local and state politics from the 1960s through the 1990s. He has remained interested since then in behind-the-scenes Democratic politics in this century, especially in Branford.
Harp, a former alder and state senator, was the city’s leading African-American politician from the mid-1990s through her term as mayor from 2014 – 2019. She came out early as a public Bloomberg supporter in this campaign season.
Click here and here for two previous stories about Harp’s support for Bloomberg’s quest.
Wednesday’s campaign release quoted Marcus about his reasons for backing the former New York City mayor’s campaign: “I am for Mike Bloomberg because he can beat Trump and because he will make an outstanding president. For Trump to be unseated we need a candidate who can not only hold the Democratic base, but one who can appeal to independents, suburban women and those Republicans who are not part of the Trump cult. Mike Bloomberg is that person. He brings with him a history of bipartisanship, hard work and personal integrity. Mike’s candidacy at the moment is like an avalanche that will keep gaining strength.”