Leora Levy, a first-time political candidate who received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump, won the Connecticut Republican primary for U.S. Senate in an upset Tuesday that could signal a shift for the state GOP after years of backing moderates. A socially conservative member of the Republican National Committee, Levy defeated the party-endorsed candidate, former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a social moderate, and fellow conservative Peter Lumaj. She appeared stunned by the victory when she appeared before a cheering crowd of supporters in her hometown of Greenwich. “We’re making history here. It’s really exciting,” she said. Levy thanked Trump for last week’s endorsement, promising, “I will not let you down. Thank you for having my back.” Klarides, who supports abortion rights and certain gun control measures, told her supporters that she had called to congratulate Levy, who ran TV ads accusing the veteran state legislator of “not being one of us.” Levy and Lumaj, who both oppose abortion rights, had argued that a conservative candidate was needed to defeat Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in November. Klarides argued her moderate positions on issues like abortion would persuade Connecticut voters in the general election to oust Blumenthal, who has been in office since 2011. She focused her campaign heavily on economic issues, including inflation and gas prices. Levy, 65, came 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 was a relative unknown when she first jumped into the race. Lumaj said Tuesday night Trump’s late endorsement “absolutely” affected the contest and gave Levy the advantage. “This is a huge victory for President Trump in our state,” he told WTNH in an interview from a restaurant in Norwich where his supporters gathered. “That changed everything. The primary voters have spoken. They still support the president regardless of who the endorsed candidate is.” Connecticut hasn’t elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who served from 1971 to 1989. Art Shilosky, a Republican and former first selectman of Colchester, said he doesn’t believe that nominating a candidate endorsed by Trump would finally end that drought for the GOP. He also questioned whether Trump’s endorsement would help Levy. “No, I don’t think that’s a good mix,” Shilosky said outside a polling place where he voted for Klarides. “I think the Republicans in the state of Connecticut are more moderate than he (Trump) is. He’s too far out. People don’t relate to that. I don’t.” Turnout was light on Tuesday. 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.” He said the procedure for such a situation is to put the ballots in a secure auxiliary bin and count them later. Meanwhile, Republicans in the state’s 4th Congressional District chose the party-endorsed candidate, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, over Michael Goldstein, a doctor and lawyer from Greenwich. The winner will challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes in November. Voters on Tuesday also chose candidates to replace […]

The post Trump-Backed Leora Levy Wins GOP Senate Primary in Connecticut appeared first on The Yeshiva World.