GOP leader Klarides heading new PAC to boost party
House Minority Leader Themis Klarides has continually said that just because she is not running for reelection doesn’t mean she is retiring from public life.
In fact, she hasn’t denied rumors of a potential run for governor in 2022.
The Derby Republican has gone a step further by becoming the honorary chairwoman of a new, federally registered political action committee, the Fight for Connecticut PAC, with plans to raise and spend money in Republican party-building and getting out the vote in advance of the Nov. 3 election.
“When I retired from the legislature, I made it abundantly clear that I wasn’t going very far,” Klarides, a lawyer, said in a written release Friday. “Serving as honorary chair of the Fight for Connecticut PAC is a way for me to try and get people thinking about a brighter future for Connecticut, and I believe that starts with accountable government.”
The Federal Election Commission site on Friday indicated that the PAC has raised $70,200, but there was no information available on individual contributors. While federal rules severely restrict uses for the money, getting out the vote and GOP party building are allowed.
That can include mailers supporting the Republican Party, but she is barred from using it for a potential candidacy of her own..
“One-party rule at all levels has delivered higher taxes, more costly and ineffective government, and a population of residents, families and businesses who believe that Connecticut’s best days are behind us,” Klarides, a longtime Derby resident who recently married a corporate executive who has a home in Madison.
“This is about growing a coalition of voters and activists who are tired of the status quo, who believe in Connecticut and want to see someone stand up and fight for our future,” she said. “I’m happy to be part of it.”
The new PAC is an inevitable way to keep Klarides’ name in front of state Republicans, who in another year will start thinking about their 2022 candidates for governor, said Professor Gary Rose, chairman of the Department of Government at Sacred Heart University.
“I think everybody knows that she has aspirations to do this,” Rose said Friday afternoon. “Is she a shoo-in? No. But this is consistent with an individual now taking a step toward a statewide run.”
Rose said that while Klarides already has some name recognition, the PAC gives her a higher profile, but maybe not as much as Bob Stefanowski of Madison, the failed 2018 candidate who during the pandemic has distributed thousands of face masks throughout the state.
Rose thinks that Stefanowski, who lost the 2018 race to Gov. Ned Lamont by 694,510 to 650,138, likely still has the inside track on the 2022 nomination, along with Greenwich investor David Stemerman.
“I think Klarides has a ways to go to establish the coalition she needs,” Rose said. “But it’s time now to start making your move. I think there’s a likelihood it’s going to be a pretty crowded field for the GOP. Bob Stefanowski has been in the spotlight for a long time now. I think it’s going to be a very interesting contest. I think Klarides obviously has support among some legislators, but you need a much broader base.”