A hotly contested set of primaries Tuesday will put to the test the ability of wealthy outsiders to win political office, the ability of New Haven Democratic Party outsiders to challenge the machine, and the ability of Connecticut Hispanics to place a Latino on a statewide ticket.
Those are the stakes in New Haven as voters go to the polls to choose Democratic and Republican nominees for governor and lieutenant governor, a Republican nominee for attorney general, a Democratic nominee for state comptroller, a Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, and a Democratic nominee for secretary of the state.
In parts of New Haven, Democrats will also choose nominees for state representative in the 92nd, 94th, and 96th District.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Click here to use a new tool on a state website to find out what district you live in and where to vote.
Several races pit candidates seeking first-time office and pouring cash into their own campaigns against (mostly) outspent opponents with experience in elected office who are relying on Connecticut’s new public-financing law for the first time.
The outcomes of these races—Ned Lamont versus Dan Malloy in the Democratic governor’s primary; Tom Foley versus Michael Fedele in the Republican primary (which also includes Oz Griebel, who opposes public financing); Debra Hauser versus Roland Lemar in the 96th District, which spans New Haven and Hamden — will test whether public office will become the province of the wealthy in Connecticut, or whether the campaign finance system will even the playing field. Lamont is spending over $9 million, $8.6 million of it from his own pocket, on his primary campaign. Malloy will spend $2.75 million, most of it from the Connecticut Citizens Election Program.
Hauser has poured $43,000 into her bid, a high figure for a state representative campaign, triggering a triple grant for an opponent for the first time ever in Connecticut.
Self-financers argue that their personal money frees them from debts to traditional interest groups and enables them to offer a fresh face against established politicians. Their opponents argue that the self-financers are buying their offices and lack the experience to do the job.
The Republican U.S. Senate primary doesn’t feature public financing, but it does include a similar match-up between World Wresting Entertainment executive Linda McMahon, who has vowed to spend up to $50 million on her campaign, and former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons. (Peter Schiff is running, too.)
Meanwhile, New Haven has one politician running for statewide office: former Alderman Gerry Garcia, who faces state House Majority Leader Denise Merrill in a Democratic primary for secretary of the state, Connecticut’s top elections official. Garcia, the underdog in the race, has attracted the support of many Latino politicians and activists in the state; neither major party has ever nominated a Latino for a Constitutional office in Connecticut.
New Haven was originally supposed to be a lock for Ned Lamont’s Democratic gubernatorial campaign, once the mayor and party chairwoman pulled the city’s convention delegation behind it. He has his statewide headquarters here. But in recent weeks, as his campaign has surged statewide, Malloy has picked up support from largely African-American politicos in New Haven, and has been making repeated stops in the city. Much of his support (not all) has come from Democrats independent of DeStefano’s Democratic machine; this selection will test whether a viable opposition can round up votes in a party primary. A similar test occurred in a registrar of voters primary in town in 1988, forming the nucleus of an organization that defeated the party machine and elected New Haven’s first black mayor in 1989.
In other statewide primaries, Republican Martha Dean squares off against Ross Garber for the attorney general nomination, pitting a Tea Party supporter against an older Connecticut GOP-style moderate; and Democrats Michael Jarjura and Kevin Lembo compete for the comptroller nomination.
In New Haven, one of the state representative primaries, in the 92nd District, features a challenge to 13-term incumbent Pat Dillon by Westville Alderman Sergio Rodriguez. The race between Hauser and Lemar in the 96th is for an open seat, vacated by State Rep. Cam Staples. First-term State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield is being challenged by former Alderman Willie Greene in the 94th.
Following are Independent stories about the three state representative primaries:
96th District (East Rock, Fair Haven, Wooster Square, southern Hamden)
• Recession The #1 Issue In 96th
• Hauser Gives Foley $250
• Lemar Sews Up 96th District Endorsement
• D’Agostino Out; Lemar Targets Reentry
• Hauser, Lemar Square Off On Homelessness
• Who’s The Outsider? The “Clean” Candidate?
• Surprise! Lemar, Hauser Have Company
• There’s This Spot Called “Fair Haven”
• State Rep Race Heats Up in Fair Haven
• Tax Ideas Claimed By All Candidates
• Morrison’s Out
• Hamden Or Bust!
• Candidate Fends Off Foreclosure
• Hauser Wants Data, Involved Parents
• Hauser Pays $25K For Own Campaign
• Hauser Spending Means More $$ For Lemar
• Hauser Spending Triggers Another Grant To Lemar
92nd District (Westville, Edgewood, West River)
• On Bulk Trash, Which Politician Gets The Call?
• Working Families Party Endorses Lemar, Dillon, Holder-Winfield
• Public Financing Comes Out On Top
• How Can State Reps Create Jobs?
• Rodriguez: I’ll Debate
• Rodriguez Challenges Dillon
• Party Behind Her, Dillon Seeks 14th Term
• 2 HQs In 92