Republican delegates have selected Stamford native Steve Obsitnik as their nominee for the 4th Congressional District, hoping he will be able to unseat three-term U.S. Rep. Jim Himes.
“Himes deserves a dishonorable discharge,” the Navy veteran said in his acceptance speech. “His moment of accountability will come Nov. 6.”
Obsitnik, who early in his career helped create the technology for on-demand television, won 73 percent of the vote.
Obsitnik likened Himes to a “big government spokesman” and said the U.S. needs an entrepreneur like him to bail the country out.
Runner-up Chris Meek, who landed 26 percent of the vote, said he is considering a primary.
The 2nd Congressional District is guaranteed to have a primary before a final nominee makes it to the general election to face three-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney.
Paul Formica, East Lyme’s first selectman, won 59 percent of the delegate vote. Runner-up Daria Novak won 33 percent and immediately promised a primary.
“See you in the primary,” she was telling delegates as they left the voting room. “Now we get to vet him.”
State Rep. Larry Cafero, the House Republican leader, said after the vote that the GOP candidates have a long way to go to recapture the congressional seats.
“They have a two-to-one advantage,” he said, referring to registered Democrats vs. Republicans in Connecticut.
However, he said he is hopeful because of the state’s 169 elected town leaders, 104 are Republicans.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Wayne Winsley won the convention’s nod. No other candidates earned enough votes to land a spot on the primary ballot without first collecting signatures.
Speaking to the convention, Winsley said when longtime Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro is finally unseated, he’s going to be singing, “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty free at last… We are going to send a message to Washington.”