HARTFORD, Conn. — A GOP fundraiser and first-time political candidate who received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump secured her party's nomination for U.S. Senate during Tuesday's primary election.
Leora Levy will attempt to beat long-time incumbent Democrat, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in the November election.
Levy was locked in a tight race against former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a social moderate who supports abortion rights and gun control measures.
Trailing behind them was another conservative candidate, attorney Peter Lumaj.
“We are making history here. This is just chapter one. We’ve got the longer chapter ahead and I really will need all of you with me," Leora said Tuesday night. "I stand here, I am a Hispanic, Jewish woman, whose grandparents and mother escaped the Nazis. My parent, my sister, and I escaped communist Cuba and there are a lot of different stories, a lot of families have come here fleeing prosecution fleeing oppression so it’s not unique but this is our story. Our journey was tragedy, it was sacrifice but there was hope in the end. We found hope here in America. My American dream, here I am as a candidate for the U.S. Senate to represent my great state of Connecticut."
Levy, 65, immigrated with her family from Cuba to the U.S. in 1960. Her grandfather was president of the Vertientes-Camaguey Sugar Company in Havana. She graduated from Brown University in 1978 and worked in the financial industry, including as a commodities trader at Philbro Salomon.
She lives in Greenwich and has loaned her campaign about $1 million, some of which she used on ads attacking Klarides in a battle over whether a conservative or a moderate had the best chance of defeating Blumenthal.
Former President Donald Trump called Republican Senate Candidate Leora Levy to congratulate her on her victory in tonight's primary.
"I want to congratulate everybody in that beautiful room and everyone in this state," Trump said over the phone followed by loud cheers from the audience.
"I've spent the last 25 years trying to make Connecticut a better place. And no matter what the future brings, I will always be my mother's daughter," Klarides said during a concession speech Tuesday night. "That loud-mouthed Greek girl who will always fight for what I believe in, always stand up for what is true, and never back down for anybody."
Connecticut hasn't elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who served from 1971 to 1989.
RELATED: 2022 Connecticut primary voter guide: Everything you need to know before heading to the polls
Newly appointed Secretary of the State Mark Kohler said the polls were “pretty quiet" for his first election, with only a handful of reports of some tabulating machines “sticking a little bit in the heat."
Voters also chose their nominees to replace longtime Secretary of State Denise Merrill, a Democrat who resigned in June to care for her ailing husband.
State Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk beat out New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond for the nomination, receiving about 78% of the vote. Each of them had pledged to oppose Republican attempts to tighten voting rules.
"All of this means a lot to me," Thomas said during a victory speech Tuesday night. "I would like to appeal right now... today... to all the unaffiliated voters, Republican voters, who are looking for an alternative to conspiracy theories and the sowing of misinformation. Who believe that it's time to invest in our democracy and make sure that we have the infrastructure to run clean elections and that registrars and town clerks are supported. I believe that this work is so important and I look forward to delving in."
In the Republican race, conservative Dominic Rapini, a sales executive for Apple and the party's endorsed candidate, beat state Rep. Terrie Wood for the nomination.
Rapini has called for tightening ID requirements and cleaning the state’s voter rolls. He says he is suspicious about voter fraud especially in the state's largest city of Bridgeport where various state and local officials have been charged over the years with election fraud — from allegedly conspiring to fraudulently obtain public campaign funds, to allegedly falsifying voter registration applications and absentee ballots applications.
Voter turnout appeared low, and it usually is for primary elections. By late Tuesday afternoon, roughly 10% of the city of West Haven's eligible voters had come out to vote.
New Britain also saw a 10% turnout of eligible voters, according to Mayor Erin Stewart.
Democrats will also choose their nominee to fill the job of state Treasurer, which is being vacated by Democrat Shawn Wooden.
Erick Russell, an attorney who specializes in municipal finances, won the nomination over Dita Bhargava, the chief operating officer of a private investment fund, and Karen Dubois-Walton, who oversees New Haven’s Housing Authority.
"The Treasurer oversees tens of billions of dollars in investments. With that comes enormous responsibility, but it also presents an enormous opportunity for change," Russell said during a victory speech Tuesday night. "We might be a small state. But when it comes to investments, Connecticut can punch above its weight. We can ensure our dollars aren't going to corporations that deny climate change, ravage our communities with addiction or fraud, or fund extremist organizations."
With this victory, Russell is on track to become the first Black out LGBTQ person ever elected to statewide office in U.S. history. He was endorsed by the LGBTQ Victory Fund.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the state's 4th Congressional District choose party-endorsed candidate, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson over Michael Goldstein, a doctor and lawyer from Greenwich. Stevenson will challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes in November.
There are no primary challengers for either side in the gubernatorial race, which remains as Gov. Ned Lamont against return-challenger Bob Stefanowski.
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