Corey wins GOP primary, will face Democrat Murphy

Matthew Corey will challenge U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., in the general election in November.

The Associated Press called the race in Corey’s favor around 8:45 p.m. with 19 percent of the voted counted and Corey ahead of Dominic Rapini 78.7 percent to 21 percent.

“I feel great. We ran a clean race,” Corey said shortly after learning of his win. “This is a road toward making Connecticut better. It’s not about defeating Dominic. It’s not about any of that. We’re both on the same team.”

He noted that the victory was sweet after running hard for six years for Congress and earning his statewide name recognition.

As the GOP endorsed candidate, Corey, a 54-yearold Hartford window washer and pub owner, relied on his blue collar background to appeal to voters. Corey unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House in Connecticut’s 1st District in 2012, 2014 and 2016.

This year, he raised only $28,090 as of July 31, according to latest federal campaign finance reports. He goes into the general election with only $7,973 on hand, compared with Murphy’s $8.5 million campaign cash war chest.

Rapini, 57, an Apple sales executive who has never previously run for elected office, was a stronger fundraiser than Corey, collecting $121,381 in contributions. He goes into the general election with only $29,758 on hand, compared with Murphy’s $8.5 million campaign cash war chest.

Both Corey and Rapini ran low-budget campaigns friendly to each other, while heaping criticism on Murphy.

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