Democrats’ anti-establishment surge just claimed another incumbent.
Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin has ousted longtime Rep. John Larson in Connecticut’s 1st District in a race that revolved around generational change.
The signs of an upset were apparent for months: Bronin, 47, beat the 78-year-old Larson for the state party’s official endorsement in the spring. He argued that Larson, who was facing the first serious challenge since he won his seat nearly three decades ago, had become too steeped in the status quo and needed to go.
The primary defied some of the trendlines that have defined similar contests this cycle. Bronin, who was one of three Democrats challenging Larson, was the beneficiary of the most outside spending. VoteVets, a group that works to elect Democratic veterans and is often aligned with the party establishment, put over $900,000 on the airwaves for Bronin, a former Navy intelligence officer.
Meanwhile, Larson had the support of the state’s chapter of the progressive Working Families Party, which has lined up behind left-wing insurgent candidates in other races.
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