By Michael Korvyakov
As we approach the 2022 midterm elections, one of the often neglected elections that take place are the primaries a few months before election day. This primary serves as an important opportunity for voters in each of the two main parties (Republican and Democrat) to select their candidates on the November 8th ballot. Because of the diverse slate of candidates within a party, voting in this election has just as much of an impact as voting in the general election, so it’s important that you get out and vote on August 9th. Here is some info on how to vote and a rundown of the candidates on the ballot next Tuesday:
Getting Ready to Vote:
In order to vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries, you must be registered as a Democrat or as a Republican respectively. If you are otherwise affiliated but would like to participate, the deadline to register with one of those two parties in order to vote in the primaries is August 8th by 12-Noon, but it must be done in person at Town Hall. Once you are registered, you may vote between the hours of 6 am and 8 pm on Tuesday, August 9th. Your voting location is determined by your district, which you can find under the “Voter Registration” section of the Town of Greenwich website. To request an absentee ballot within six days of the election, visit the Connecticut Secretary of the State website, fill out the “Emergency Application for Absentee Ballots,” and send it to your Town Clerk, whose info you can also find on the Secretary of the State website. Once you receive the absentee ballot and have filled it out, return it to the Town Clerk by mail or in person. This must be done before polls close on August 9th.
US Senator to Connecticut
Senator Blumenthal will be up for re-election during this year’s midterms on Tuesday, November 8th. The August 9th primary will be deciding on the Republican challenger for Connecticut’s United States Senate seat. There are three candidates running for the Republican nomination: Themis Klarides, Leora Levy, and Peter Lumaj.
Themis Klarides, who won the endorsement of the Republican State Convention with 57% of the vote, was an 11-term representative of the 114th district in the Connecticut General Assembly.
Leora Levy has been involved in politics through her positions as the national committeewoman of the Republican Party of Connecticut and the finance chair of multiple Republican campaigns across the state.
Peter Lumaj is an immigration lawyer who has sought public office in the past — losing a 2014 bid for Connecticut Secretary of State by 4% of the vote.
Klarides’ main message is about fiscal responsibility; saying, “the number one issue in this country is by far affordability, inflation, and the fact that people are making choices between putting gas in their car and food on their table.” Klarides also notes of her time in office — “you must understand that there are hundreds of other people and a governor or president who may not be part of your party.”
Levy’s campaign focus is “stopping all of the Biden and Blumenthal policies that are crushing this country.” In specific, she cites the “trillions of dollars of spending that have created inflation,” and the “energy shortage created by Biden on his first day in office.” Levy adds, “I’m not a career politician, I’m a career American.” She says the main issues in this election are energy prices, rising crime, the protection of the southern border, and the dangerous progressive ideology being taught in our schools.
Lumaj makes his positions abundantly clear; “I’m the only one who’s been an unwavering conservative for the past 10 years I’ve been involved in politics.” He remains firm on his pro-life, pro-second amendment, pro-originalism, and strong Southern border stances. Addressing the issue of his electability and popularity among right leaning voters, he says, “that is something the [Republicans] will have to decide . . . if they want a strong unwavering conservative, they will go with Lumaj.”
4th District Representative in U.S. House of Representatives
On August 9th, Republican voters will also decide Representative Jim Himes’ challenger to represent Connecticut’s fourth district in Congress. The two candidates for the Republican nomination are Jayme Stevenson and Michael Goldstein.
Stevenson won the endorsement of the Republican Town Committees in the fourth district while Goldstein submitted over 2,000 signatures to get himself on the ballot on August 9th. “We’ve gone to the people, and the people support him running,” says Jonathan Goldstein, Michael Goldstein’s father and campaign manager.
Stevenson, the former First Selectwoman of Darien, says that at the moment, “the federal government is using policies that cool the economy, when they should be working to expand the economy.” Stevenson emphasizes her desire to focus on financial policy making in an effort to ease the burden on families recovering from the “devastation of the last couple of years and the very high inflation rate that’s eroding wage growth.” She also says that Connecticut representatives have done a bad job getting a return on the disproportionately high amount of money that CT citizens pay into the federal government, pointing to Connecticut’s failing infrastructure as proof of such failure.
Goldstein agrees with the shortfalls of Democratic leadership, sayingn, “our campaign is about the restoration of a lot of the core principles that have been ignored in the last two years,” referencing policies such as city-wide lockdowns and vaccine mandates in schools. As a doctor who’s part of numerous New York medical societies, his campaign has a focus on healthcare. Goldstein highlights the need for reform when it comes to medical regulation, which drives up administrative costs and requires a lot of time of doctors. “It’s about looking at how we make a system more cost effective and efficient,” Goldstein says.
Connecticut Secretary of the State
This year, both the Democratic and the Republican parties will have primaries to nominate their candidates for Secretary of the State. The candidates in this year’s Democratic primary are Stephanie Thomas and Maritza Bond. The Republican candidates for the position are Dominic Rapini and Terrie Wood.
Stephanie Thomas, the owner of a consulting company, became involved in politics in 2018, when she ran an unsuccessful campaign for state representative. Two years later, Thomas ran again and won. She says her campaign is about “civic education and civic engagement.” Her plan to get people more involved includes increasing transparency through streamlining paperwork using technology,” and “ensuring that each city and town in the state has the funding to “implement fair and safe elections,” per her website. In addition, her goal is to make it easier for businesses to operate by being clear with what’s required of them when it comes to legal compliance.
Maritza Bond’s experience lies primarily in the field of administrative healthcare, as she is currently the Director of Health for the City of New Haven. She is running on a platform of expanding voting access through policies such as early voting, absentee ballots and creating a workgroup for implementing voter expansion policies. Another one of her goals is to “attack misinformation and educate the community.” Furthermore, she wants to make it easier to open small businesses in Connecticut and “make sure that [the government] is certifying minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses.”
For Republicans– Brock Weber announced (unofficially) that he is dropping out of the race about a month ago, leaving two candidates in the running. Dominic Rapini, who has worked for Apple Inc. for the last two decades, holds the endorsement of the Republican party. After an unsuccessful bid for Senate in 2018, he spent the last few years fighting for election integrity as the board chair of Fight Voter Fraud. His website says that Rapini has “fought for elections that we can trust and be proud of.” He makes it clear that election integrity will be his primary focus as Connecticut’s Secretary of the State.
Terrie Wood, the State Representative to Connecticut’s 141 district, similarly makes election integrity a focus of her campaign. Explaining the need for voter ID laws, Wood says, “we need to show people that this is a good thing — it’s not a barrier to voting.” Her plan to ease the regulatory burden on Connecticut business starts with simplifying filing procedures and reducing filing fees. Wood says what makes her stand out is “[her] electability and [her] experience,” pointing to 14 years developing policy in Hartford, and the seven elections she’s won by “huge margins.”
Connecticut Treasurer
The August 9th primary will also decide Harry Arora’s Democratic opponent for the Connecticut Treasurer seat. The three candidates in the running are Dita Bhargava, Karen Dubois-Walton, and Erick Russell.
Dita Bhargava, who has decades of experience in the private financial sector, says she is running because she has “a desire to empower communities around the state.” Her priorities will be to grow pension funds and expand the social programs that currently exist in the treasury. Bhargava makes it clear that as Treasurer, she will not invest in organizations that “don’t support a woman’s right to an abortion,” and organizations that “profit from addiction and guns.” Citing her experiences being raised by a single mother and making her way to the top of a male dominated field, she says, “I have the tenacity and experience to make sure that we are doing our best,” she says.
Karen Dubois-Walton says, “I’m the candidate who comes with public sector experience, who has managed public pensions, and who has directed public investments.” She currently serves as the head of the Housing Authority of Connecticut. Her intention as Connecticut Treasurer is to “ensure that we are investing in things that are environmentally sound, that demonstrate good labor practice, and support health care access.” Talking about housing and protecting unions, she says, “we will not attract and grow employment if we do not address [these issues].”
Like the other candidates, Erick Russell says he’s running to keep Connecticut a fiscally strong state. But he also notes the importance of “finding ways for more people to take part in the prosperity of the state.” He says that this has not been possible due to the large wealth gap that Connecticut currently has. His plan to ease the burden on low income families includes growing Connecticut’s pension funds, investing in the community through financing infrastructure, and creating financial literacy programs that he hopes to start in middle schools. “The goal is to build stronger, safer, more vibrant communities across the state. And we can do so with an eye toward economic growth,” he says.
With that information, we encourage you to go out and vote for the candidate you want to represent your party on the November 8th ballot.
