None of the GOP’s candidates will win a Senate seat
The three Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in the Aug. 9 primary raided the cliché store on their way to the debate sponsored by WTNH. They appeared more intent on concealing their ignorance rather than enlightening voters.
Themis Klarides, Leora
Levy and Peter Lumaj may have revealed more than they intended. In this fractious time, the three candidates quietly agreed that they should not answer the questions debate hosts Dennis House and Jodi Latina posed through the hour.
Klarides, who won the party’s endorsement at its May nominating convention, erred in emphasizing her 22 years in the state legislature. She often spoke as if she were a mere observer there — even when a fellow Republican was governor for more than half those years.
The urge to indulge in some dizzying puffery proved irresistible to Klarides early in the debate. She took credit for the 2017 bipartisan budget deal. That triumph was the shrewd work of then-Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano and Democratic state Sen. Joan Hartley, with assistance from Senate
Republican staff member Lisa Hammersley’s encyclopedic knowledge of the state’s finances.
Klarides seemed out of her depth at moments. She declared, “I believe in as much legal immigration as we can have.” Klarides may be surprised to learn that the U.S. Senate plays an important role in immigration policy.
Klarides has found one line of attack that infuriates Levy, who serves on the Republican National Committee. Levy is listed with her husband as a contributor to Richard Blumenthal’s 1998 reelection campaign for attorney general. Blumenthal is the Democrat the winner
The candidates do not weigh themselves down with ideas. They identify problems and nod at them with a well-worn party slogan. America’s troubles began when Joe Biden became president.
of the Aug. 9 primary will face in November.
Levy insists she did not contribute to Blumenthal; her husband did. She called it a lie to say she made that $100 contribution. Her name is on Blumenthal’s campaign finance report. Rather than rage against what is in front of our eyes, Levy might have calmly explained that 24 years ago, contributions were made by check — sometimes from accounts spouses shared. Campaigns would sometimes include the names of both account holders on campaign finance reports if they could not read a signature. That simple explanation seems not to have occurred to Levy, though she has had months to ponder it.
Levy used the moment to say she does not hold Klarides responsible for rate hikes by Eversource, the utility where Klarides’s husband is a top executive. She could have pointed out that during those 22 years Klarides was in the state House, Connecticut became the most expensive place in the continental United States to use electricity. Levy is not nimble.
Peter Lumaj, a Fairfield immigration lawyer and frequent candidate, was no more interested than the other two candidates in answering questions. Lumaj, making his fourth bid for statewide office in 10 years, continues to recite conservative doctrine. He enjoys being a candidate and having an hour in the spotlight every couple of years. Providing a precise answer to a specific question continues to elude him.
Lumaj has adopted the habit of delivering short lessons in history and explaining what other people think. He enjoys raising options that do not exist. Lumaj would have voted for part of a proposal but not the rest of it. That’s not a choice; it’s a dodge.
The candidates do not weigh themselves down with ideas. They identify problems and nod at them with a well-worn party slogan. America’s troubles began when Joe Biden became president. Seems there were no illegal drugs in America until January of last year.
The three candidates seemed not to understand that by agreeing to participate in the debate they were bound to observe the rules that were determined in advance. A lightning round at the end required “yes” or “no” answers or a few words. Each found the simple segment a challenge.
When asked by House if they would vote for Donald Trump in 2024 — a question any Republican should anticipate — the candidates abandoned the rules. Lumaj eventually said he would vote for Trump’s policies. Levy always votes for the Republican candidate. Klarides, who did not vote for Trump in 2020, twice said she would wait and see.
None of the three found a moment to denounce Trump’s attempts to overturn the result of the 2020 election. The collective zero they scored during their only debate adds to the reasons none of them will be in the Senate the next time it gathers to affirm the counting of electoral votes and the election of a president.