Major-party candidate slates for the state Legislature and statewide offices were settled recently in a summertime primary. The Hartford-based Connecticut Business and Industry Association charted winners and losers. Losers included a pair of Fairfield County incumbents while winners included a local man back for more in the gubernatorial arena.
“Whom we send to the state Capitol in January will have a lot to say about how to turn around our economy and improve those national rankings,” the CBIA said, citing the state”™s low performance on national surveys of business friendliness.
Greenwich resident Tom Foley won the Republican primary to run for governor against incumbent Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, in the fall. Foley defeated state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney. The Foley/Malloy race is a rematch of 2010, when Malloy won narrowly.
State Sen. Anthony Musto, D-Trumbull, chairman of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, lost to Democratic challenger Marilyn Moore in the 22nd Senate District.
And state Rep. Christina Ayala, D-Bridgeport, lost to challenger Christopher Rosario.
Groton Town Council member Heather Somers won a tight Republican primary race against two challengers for the lieutenant governor nod. Sharon McLaughlin won the GOP primary to run for state comptroller.
Winning the primary for the Democratic nod for the 20th state Senate District was state Rep. Elizabeth Ritter, D-Quaker Hill.
Fifty legislative incumbents will not be challenged this year, according to the Connecticut Secretary of State and as related by the CBIA, marking a 56 percent increase in uncontested seats from two years ago.
“Connecticut needs to improve its economy and our standing in many national competitiveness studies,” the CBIA said in a statement that accompanied a full tally of all primaries, available on the CBIA website. “While there has been steadier job creation in the state recently, we still have a way to go to regain all the jobs lost during the recession.”
It offered the CBIA Outreach Department contact information as a conduit to more information on the topic: Nicole Klein at
860-244-1929 and Adam Ney at 860-244-1933.
