29 May, 2026
May 24, 2026
Connecticut’s Democrats are spoiled. No matter whom they nominate, that person wins. It’s a Deep Blue state. When you add up the number of municipal and state workers (retired or not), those on public assistance, freeloaders and Trump-hating affluent white liberals who have nothing else to do but attend No Kings rallies, the number exceeds 50%.
But it is possible for a Republican to win. The Democratic vote needs to split. This happened in 1994 when Republican John Rowland won with 36% while more liberal voters split, with Democrat Bill Curry receiving 33% and independent Eunice Groark receiving 19%.
Could this happen in 2026? Definitely. And it is up to a party called The Working Families Party (WFP).
State Representative, Josh Elliott from Hamden, has emerged from the Left to challenge Governor Lamont. A self-described “leading progressive voice,” Representative Elliott is an unabashed liberal who supports increasing taxes on the wealthy, government sponsored childcare, universal health care, rent control, forced low-income housing in Connecticut’s affluent towns, using taxpayer money to pay striking workers (I do not have enough imagination to make this up), ranked-choice voting and believes the best way to combat criminal thuggery is rehabilitation and counselling (I am not making this up either).
He even believes that allowing more roof top solar panels and banning natural gas in Connecticut will reduce energy costs! He probably thinks Bernie Saunders is a right-wing nut job.
Governor Lamont has morphed into a Fairfield County Republican and liberals are livid. Lamont has refused to raise taxes on the wealthy because he fears they could leave the state. He vetoed an aggressive attempt by liberal Democrats to change local zoning laws in municipalities to increase affordable housing. And he does not believe striking workers should be subsidized by taxpayers.
In spite Connecticut’s reputation for progressive policies, it has a feudal remnant to prevent gadflies from challenging the status quo, the Convention System. In almost every state, if you want to run for public office, you need to garner a certain number of signatures to be placed on the ballot.
But not in Connecticut. Each party has a Town Committee in every town. Members from these committees meet at a convention and choose their candidates. But to place your name on the primary ballot, you need to garner 15% of the delegates. And this is very difficult to do when your opponent is party insider and especially if your opponent is a sitting Governor.
This is why I went into fits of uncontrollable laughter when I read Representative Elliott was attempting to receive 15% at the Democratic convention. I have personally sought nominations as a Republican for both US Senate and Congress and participated in running the conventions for my good friend Mike Goldstein as he ran for Congress in Fairfield County. Many of these convention delegates are party hacks angling for state and local jobs. And Josh Elliott was going to get 15% against a sitting Democratic Governor who controls many of these jobs? What a joke. The guy was out of his mind.
And boy was I wrong. Elliott received 25% and, by his own admission, would have won the Convention if there had been secret ballots. The media were too dense to report what a remarkable accomplishment this was. And it means Elliott has a huge amount of support and could become Governor if he is the nominee.
Elliott will now face Lamont in a primary in August, and he has qualified to receive $3.7 million from the state. His problem is that $3.7 million is a rounding error to the billionaire Lamont (strange how the media never point this out) who could blow $20 million to stop Elliott.
The persistent Elliott has an ace up his sleeve. There is a third party in Connecticut that has access to a ballot line in the November general election, the Working Families Party (WFP). It consists of only 300 members and to say these people are left of center would be a gross understatement.
The WFP could choose an unknown. But this carries a risk. According to Connecticut election law, a political party must receive at least 1% of the vote in the previous election to have a line in the next election. If an unknown WFP candidate fails to do this, the WFP risks political oblivion.
The WFP could also be total wimps, hold their nose and nominate Lamont. Why? Because this makes a Lamont victory quite likely. The Republican moderate Erin Stewart may have given Lamont a tough race heads up, but a scandal on her use of her expense account while she was mayor of New Britian ended her campaign. The more conservative Republican nominee Ryan Fazio has a chance, but the betting sites such as Polymarket put it at 7%.
If the WFP honors its values and nominates Elliott, then all hell breaks loose. According to the Connecticut State Election Commission, Elliott cannot receive state funding if he switches parties. But he can raise money on his own and the August primary will make his name recognition and position on the issues well known to Connecticut liberals. He could easily win 20% and put Fazio in the Governor’s mansion or pull 35% and win! But if Fazio wins, the WFP will surely be blamed. And they know this.
Governor Lamont has ties to the WFP and has been nominated by them before. One of his high-level advisors, Matthew Brokman, is married to former WFP chairman Lindsey Farrell. Lamont will surely do everything in his power to secure the WFP nomination.
What does this mean?
It means I am pretending to be a liberal so I can join the WFP. I want to be invited to Governor’s Lamont’s barbecues at his Greenwich estate. And just to let Governor Lamont know, I prefer Old Rip Van Winkle Bourbon in my Manhattans, the 2009 Chateau Lafite Rothschild (please make sure to decant it properly) and my filet mignons rare.
Contact Dr Bentivegna: [email protected]
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