The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Himes endorses Blumenthal’s son
STAMFORD — U.S. Rep. Jim Himes gave a warm endorsement Saturday to a political newcomer with a familiar name.
At the Springdale Diner, he told supporters Matt Blumenthal, the eldest son of U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, is the right person to represent the 147th District, which covers Stamford and Darien, in the state House.
“The intense representation we will get from Matt Blumenthal is what we need here, what we need in Hartford,” said Himes, who is seeking re-election to the 4th District in November. “That base of decency and progressive and thoughtful governance is going to begin to restore what we all think of as what makes our country great.”
After the announcement, the two Democrats went door-knocking together. Talking to voters, Blumenthal, 32, is careful to emphasize his own record — as an Ivy League-educated former Marine who works for the law firm Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder — rather than his family legacy.
“I want every voter to make a decision in this election about me and my plans for the future,” Blumenthal said.
The candidate, not his father, asked for the endorsement, Himes said.
The Democratic senior senator from Connecticut has been mostly hands off with his son’s campaign, the younger Blumenthal said. He is not even sure whether his father will officially endorse him.
“My father is very proud of me, in the sense that he loves me and he believes in my ability to bring change for Connecticut, but I, in no way, am trying to bring him into this,” Blumenthal said.
Blumenthal moved to the 147th District in Stamford in April 2017, he said. He lived in Stamford as a child until his family moved to Greenwich when he was 9.
He resoundingly won the Democratic Party’s nomination in May over city Rep. Anzelmo Graziosi, 46, an attorney. State Rep. William Tong, a Democrat who now fills the seat, is running for attorney general.
On Saturday, Himes also endorsed Michelle McCabe, a Democrat running for the state Senate to represent the 28th District, which covers Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Easton and Newtown. She is the director of the Center of Food Equity and Economic Council of the Churches of Greater Bridgeport.