Elizabeth Esty bested Chris Donovan and Dan Roberti to win the Democratic primary for the Congressional Fifth District, in the wake of federal indictments against multiple campaign staff formerly employed by Donovan.
Esty will face state Sen. Andrew Roraback, who defeated Mark Greenberg, Lisa Wilson-Foley and Justin Bernier in the Republican primary.
In other primary contests, Linda McMahon easily shunted aside Chris Shays for the Republican nod to face U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy for the seat of U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman. Murphy easily brushed back Susan Bysiewicz, who has now had two straight unsuccessful campaigns for public office since stepping down as Connecticut secretary of state
Donovan”™s campaign was rocked by allegations that his campaign finance manager had solicited donations in exchange for a promise to influence legislation in the Connecticut General Assembly, where Donovan is speaker of the House of Representatives. Donovan says he was not involved in any wrongdoing and has not been charged.
Esty beat Roberti, who won a last-moment endorsement from former President Bill Clinton, even as he suspended his campaign to be with his mother who died Saturday after a battle with cancer.
[Editor’s note: Due to a reporting error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the outcome of an earlier campaign by Susan Bysiewicz.]
