Criminal charges complicate close 2nd District race

Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional district is gripped in a dead-heat Republican primary between one candidate who was arrested on the eve of the election on charges related to an alleged domestic assault and his opponent who turned him in to police.

The candidate who was arrested, Thomas Gilmer, 29, of Madison, dropped out of the race the night before the election, party officials anounced — but apparently did not take the legal steps to remove himself from the ballot. That leaves open the question of what will happen if he wins the race.

Gilmer was arrested late Monday night on charges of second degree strangulation and first degree unlawful restraint, in connection with an alleged 2017 incident. He intends to fight those charges and will plead not guilty, he said Wednesday.

As officials in some 2nd District towns — covering eastern Connecticut — counted ballots Wednesday evening, just five votes separated Gilmer, the GOP endorsed candidate, and Republican Justin Anderson of East Haddam.

Anderson is hoping for a win and said Wednesday he wants to keep peace within the state Republican party, but his handling of a video of the alleged assault has created an uproar within the GOP.

If Gilmer wins, the state Republican party could bypass Anderson and nominate a new candidate to replace him — if he agrees to step down. The state GOP, meanwhile, is actively fielding calls from Republicans hoping for the right to run against Rep. Joe Courtney, the Democrat who has held the seat since 2007.

The ordeal has many in the party scratching their heads over what it means for Connecticut Republicans at a time when well known candidates have not come forward to challenge incumbent Democrats.

“I know everyone is focused on who is going to run,” said former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, who moving to a shoreline town where he will become a voter in the 2nd Congressional District. “I’m more focused on how this situation went down

and what it’s going to do to the party long term .... The state central party has an obligation to determine fact from fiction and determine what went on here.”

A video and a confrontation

The drama started when Anderson was contacted by a woman who was previously romantically involved with Gilmer just weeks before the state Republican convention on May 11, Anderson said. She gave him a video depicting an altercation with Gilmer.

“She said, ‘Just so you know this is who you’re dealing with,’” Anderson said.

The alleged victim feared for her safety if the video became public or if she went to the police, but she did not want Gilmer to be elected to Congress, Anderson said. So with her agreement, Anderson discussed the video with state party chairman J.R. Romano, both Anderson and Romano confirmed.

Romano talked to Gilmer about the contents of the video. Gilmer denied the incident and declined to drop out of the race, Anderson said.

“I actually at one point when this first broke out, in order for this to not be political, I told J.R., ‘I’ll drop out as long as Tommy’s out,’” Anderson said. “He said, ‘Unless this goes public I don’t know what to do, but stay in the

race.’”

Romano said when he heard about the video from Anderson, he told Anderson to turn it over to law enforcement.

“I never had the evidence,” Romano said Tuesday. “I was being told by Mr. Anderson that the victim did not want to go to the police. He was saying the victim did not want to do that. I believe if you have evidence of a crime, you should bring it to the police.”

But constrained by the alleged victim’s wishes not to involve police, Anderson felt trapped, he said.

Gilmer then won the endorsement of the party at the convention.

Anderson said he told a few other Republicans about the video, but was frustrated that Gilmer still was on the path to become the nominee, when he believed he had evidence of a potential crime. Rumors of the existence of the video then reached social media and even Gilmer, Anderson said.

At that point, July 22, Anderson decided with the alleged victim to hand the video over to police. Police in Wethersfield investigated because the incident took place in that town. Court records indicate the alleged assault was on May 20, 2017.

‘Heck of a coincidence’

Gilmer was located by the Madison Police Department and arrested at 9:45 p.m. on Monday night, the Wethersfield Police Department said.

Instead of campaigning on Tuesday, primary day, Gilmer had an arraignment hearing. He was released on $5,000 bond.

Gilmer will plead not guilty when he faces a judge in September, his lawyer Richard Brown said Wednesday.

“Obviously he’s frustrated and puzzled as to why it was that this took three years for the complainant to apparently go to the police,” Brown said of his client Gilmer. “One has to question the motives behind all this.”

Brown suggested the timing of the arrest was fishy.

“It is a heck of a coincidence that suddenly charges are brought on the eve of the election on a case that the allegations are in excess of three years ago,” Brown said Wednesday. “It’s not like he’s been hiding or anything. If anything he has been out every day working toward his campaign.”

In the event Gilmer wins the primary race, he would need to notify the Secretary of the State’s office in writing that he is ending his campaign and does not wish to appear on the ballot in November. Once that notification is made, the state Republican party is given the authority to choose a new candidate, and the party is not obligated to choose Anderson.

Gabe Rosenberg, spokesman for the Secretary of the State’s office, said Gilmer has not yet been in touch with the agency.

The Connecticut Republican

party announced on Tuesday on Twitter that Gilmer had ended his campain. Gilmer in a statement blamed Anderson for “slinging mud.”

“Now I find myself in a position where I must put my family and our shared Republican values before my own interests,” Gilmer wrote. “I cannot in good conscience move forward in this campaign while I am simultaneously forced to clear my name. And clear my name I will.”

‘Pick up the pieces’

Romano said Wednesday he has not heard from Gilmer since Tuesday and does not know when Gilmer intends to officially notify the Secretary of the State’s office. Gilmer’s election website and Facebook have been taken down.

Romano said at least two people have reached out to the party to say they would be willing to step up if the party needs a candidate, but Romano declined to say who the potential candidates would be.

One person familiar with discussions among Republicans said those interested include Peter Lumaj, a failed Republican candidate for several offices, including governor in 2018. Lumaj, whose consulting firm Praetorian Strategy Group is managing the campaign of 4th Congressional District candidate Jonathan Riddle, did not return a request for comment Wednesday. He lives in Fairfield,

but legally candidates do not need to be residents of the district they represent.

Herbst, the former Trumbull first selectman, said he has been contacted about a potential run, but he is not interested in the position. “There is no way I would get into a race of any kind given the current structure of our state party,” he said.

Herbst is concerned about the allegations against Gilmer and how that reflects upon the state Republican party in general. Herbst said he believes an objective outside person or group should be hired either by the state Republican party or the Republican National Committee to determine how Gilmer became the party’s endorsed candidate despite apparent the apparent allegations made prior to the endorsement.

“Now what’s happening is irrespective of whether Gilmer wins or loses this primary,” Herbst said. “The party has to pick up the pieces and anoint a candidate who is starting with no money less than three months before an election. They have no chance.”

Not feuding with the GOP

In a press release sent to Republican Town Committee members early this week, Anderson’s campaign accused Republican leaders of using the video to attack him, not Gilmer.

“Instead of investigating the issues over the last three months, party leaders participated

in cajoling, victimshaming, and shunning Mr. Anderson, questioning his integrity,” the release states. “It was Justin’s goal to deal with the allegations privately among leaders to protect the victim, however party leaders brought this out publicly to discredit Mr. Anderson.”

But Anderson said in an interview Wednesday his campaign distributed this language without his permission during the power outage resulting from Tropical Storm Isaias.

“It seems like I’m feuding with the party. I’m not,” said Anderson, a military veteran who served in Afganistan and worked as a government intelligence official and former corrections officer. “I have put a lot of time and effort into this campaign and if we move forward and Tommy is not the nominee, I hope that they would consider me.”

Gilmer has repeatedly endorsed QAnon ideas on social media. QAnon is a conspiracy theory that alleges President Donald Trump was combating “deep state” enemies and pedophiles. It has been linked to violence and potential domestic terrorism.

Gilmer works in industrial and commercial construction through his company Axe Management Industries LLC. He launched his campaign to challenge Courtney in April, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson

Gilmer