Trump-backed Levy wins GOP Senate primary in Connecticut
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — 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." Both Levy and Lumaj 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...