Connecticut Democratic Party insiders begin a two-day convention Friday in Hartford. They’ll be endorsing their candidates for this year’s statewide races.
Tonight the 3,800 delegates are scheduled to endorse incumbent U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, who is running for a second six-year term. He is unopposed. The delegates will endorse candidates for other statewide constitutional offices on Saturday.
Those offices include governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and treasurer, for which there are no incumbents seeking re-election. And the offices of secretary of the state and comptroller, for which Democratic incumbents Denise Merrill, and Kevin Lembo are seeking re-election.
Meanwhile, the field of potential Democratic candidates for governor is growing smaller. Sean Connolly, the former state veterans affairs commissioner, announced Thursday he is ending his bid for Democratic Party's endorsement and throwing his support to Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont. Lamont, and Susan Bysiewicz, a former secretary of the state, have decided to team up on a ticket with Lamont seeking the nomination for governor and Bysiewicz seeking the nomination for lieutenant governor.
Another contender for governor, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, is forgoing the convention. Instead he’s trying to petition his way onto the party primary in August by gathering signatures from more than 15,000 registered Democrats, or 2 percent of the registered Democrats in Connecticut, by June 12.
