Connecticut’s secretary of the state said Friday that Republicans will have a choice of at least three candidates in a presidential primary on April 28, but the party’s state chairman asserted that the GOP doesn’t want one and
may go to court to stop it.
President Donald J. Trump, who won 85.6% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary this week, will be contested in Connecticut by William Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, and a former Democratic presidential candidate, Rocky De La Fuente.
Democrats making the cut: Joe Biden, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer and Elizabeth Warren.
Anyone can opt out by notifying the state no later than March 23.
Actual ballot order will be determined by lot on March 24.
State law required Secretary of the State Denise Merrill to announce the list of candidates precisely at 10 a.m. on Friday, the 74th day preceding the April 28th primary.
The secretary of the state decides who makes the ballot based on a low bar set in state law: A candidate must be “generally and seriously advocated or recognized according to reports in the national or state news media.”
Guided by that law, Merrill said, she opts for access.
“We don’t make any determination requiring any measure of viability, or whether or not someone is going to win,” Merrill said. “That is not the measure we use.”
J.R. Romano, the state Republican chairman, said Merrill is imposing a primary on a Republican Party that doesn’t want one, and she did so without consulting him, a snub he called petty.
“I don’t think she did her due diligence,” Romano said. “We are actually looking at challenging it.”
Nothing in state law suggests the secretary of the state should consult with party leaders, make a judgement about the viability of candidates, or the consider the cost to the towns of printing ballots for a primary challenge of a sitting president.
“What J.R. calls pettiness, we call democracy,” said Gabe Rosenberg, a spokesman for Merrill. “Our office followed both the letter and spirit of the law, and let the voters decide.”
Anyone paying moderate attention to the campaign will recognize the eight Democrats placed on the ballot by Merrill. Another path to the ballot is gathering signatures from one percent of the party’s enrollment.
No one is suggesting the Trump’s renomination is in jeopardy. But should Republican challengers be allowed to try? And should Republican voters not enamored with the president be afforded the opportunity to signify that in a primary?
Romano said the answer is no. Merrill says state law indicates otherwise.
Weld, the former governor of Massachusetts, is offering himself as the leading alternative for GOP voters who cannot abide a second Trump term. De La Fuente is making his second run, but his first as a Republican.
Reply With Quote
Connect With Us