Connecticut Dems: Who can defeat Trump?

He hasn’t racked up many endorsements yet, but Joe Biden still has a strong foothold in Connecticut.

Biden officially entered the 2020 presidential race Thursday, and while many of the state’s top elected Democrats have been cautious to embrace him — walking the political tightrope between praising the former vice president and lamenting some aspects of his public record — other Democrats maintain this election won’t be about who is their personal favorite candidate.

They’re thinking beyond the primary: they’re concerned with which candidate best aligns with their values, and stands the best chance to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.

“There’s never been a time when Democrats have been more united around, ‘We need to save the country,’ ” said John Olsen, a Democratic National Committee member and former state party chairman, who has all but endorsed Biden.

“I don’t think it’s as much about somebody new, but who do we think can win. And people that support other people, I would tell them that. We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”

For some, that might mean a compromise, even with little more than 18 months until the general election.

“I’m a Democratic Socialist and have been for many years, so I liked (U.S. Sen.) Bernie (Sanders’) message and I still like Bernie’s message,” said Marty Dunleavy, a former Democratic National Committee member who is volunteering for Biden’s campaign in Connecticut.

“But I’m also a pragmatic Irish American, so I’m for the most liberal guy or gal who can win a general election and I doubt Bernie’s electability.”

It’s a crowded field — Biden’s entry makes 20 Democratic candidates vying for the nomination to challenge Trump.

While Biden’s lengthy record isn’t perfect — he has long been accused of mishandling the 1991 confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was accused of sexual harassment, and has been criticized for playing a key role in the passage of a 1994 crime bill that led to mass incarcerations of minorities — Dunleavy and others aren’t concerned that will hinder his electability. Biden earlier this month made headlines for inappropriately touching women in the past, though his accusers made clear those incidents weren’t sexual in nature, so much as demeaning behavior from a powerful man.

But if early polling is any indication — and it is early — the accusations haven’t hurt Biden’s standing as a front-runner. Even before he officially entered the campaign Thursday, he was leading across most of 69 primary polls, according to an aggregation of all national polls by the website FiveThirtyEight.

“I know him,” Olsen said. “He’s been here. He’s been around. I think he’s a strong candidate. ... I think he speaks the language that can win not only the Connecticuts and New Yorks ... but to the disillusioned workers in the Midwest that elected Trump but aren’t satisfied. I think he bridges that pretty well. He’s been around a long time and there’s always things people can point to they may take issue with.”

But Olsen and Dunleavy are in the minority of those ready to make a public endorsement. Nancy DiNardo, a Democratic National Committee member, said she likes Biden, but she’s not yet weighing in on who she favors. If nothing else, she thinks Biden entering the race will prompt more people to pay attention early in the race.

Still, she echoed other Democrats in saying the party needs to think beyond the primary to the general election, and they need to do it sooner rather than later.

“My personal opinion is that we should be looking for a candidate that can win,” she said. “Obviously the bottom line is that’s what’s most important, and we all need to come together for whoever that candidate is. Otherwise it will be four more years of Donald Trump and that would be a disaster ... we need to pay attention to the candidates who emerge as the frontrunners and also ask, ‘Who do we think will have the best shot of winning?’ ”

DiNardo said she is surprised candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, who represent neighboring states Massachusetts and New Jersey, haven’t picked up more support in Connecticut. She has heard rumblings of support for Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is quickly gaining popularity. As for whether a woman could win, DiNardo certainly hopes so. But hopes are only half of it.

“I’d like to think that (a woman could win a general election), but I’m honestly not sure,” DiNardo said. “I definitely hope if it’s not a female candidate, that they do pick a female (running mate). It’s really hard to say because it is so early, but if what happened in Congress is any indication, yes I wouldn’t rule women out. Particularly women are becoming more aware and more active and I think that’s wonderful.”

Brian Anderson, a member of the Democratic State Central Committee and a union lobbyist, called Biden a powerful candidate but stopped short of saying whether he supports him.

“I think Democrats and all Americans need to focus on who can win this election,” Anderson said, adding, “Democrats need to think more about the Electoral College than the Hillary Clinton campaign did.”