Republican SOTS candidate announces he will not force a primary

Bloomfield attorney Corey Brinson announced Monday evening he will not force a primary for the Republican nomination for secretary of the state, and asked his supporters to vote for Jerry Farrell Jr., commissioner of the state Department of Consumer Protection.

“I look forward to campaigning for Jerry this summer and through Election Day because I know that he is the best person,” he said in a statement.

Brinson, who received 38 percent of Republican delegate votes at the Republican Party’s nominating convention Saturday, said he wanted to do what was best for the party.

“I am 30 years old and I will have another opportunity in the future to campaign for any number of offices,” he said.

In a Facebook message to supporters earlier in the day he criticized the media for bringing his skin color into the race. Brinson was the only black person after a Republican nomination at Saturday’s convention.

“There have been a few comments in the media that have taken quotes by me and used to suggest that I believe race was a factor in Saturday’s vote. …  Let me be clear: race was NOT a factor in the vote. The winning campaign had better name recognition, it was better organized, and it was better funded–and that was the difference in the vote,” he wrote. “I will not let the media divide us along racial lines.”

Farrell is expected to face either House Majority Leader Denise Merrill, D-Mansfield, or Sen. Jonathan Harris, D-West Hartford, in a Nov. 2 election.