The two newly vacant state Senate seats quickly drew interest Wednesday in the House from Rep. Eric C. Berthel, R-Watertown, and Rep. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford. Berthel says he is seeking the seat vacated by Rob Kane; McCrory, the one left by Eric Coleman.
Kane and Coleman resigned minutes before the opening of the 2017 session, allowing Kane to accept a coming offer to be the Republican state auditor and Coleman to seek a judicial appointment.
They are unlikely to be the last to seek the seats, which will be filled by special elections.
Nominations will be made by the same delegates who nominated Kane and Coleman at conventions in May. The choice of the nominating convention cannot be challenged by a primary.
Berthel, who was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2016, called Kane “a mentor.”
Rep. Arthur J. O’Neill, R-Southbury, who lives in the district and once sought the seat, said he is supporting Berthel.
The 32nd District includes Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Middlebury, Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour, Southbury, Washington, Watertown, Woodbury.
McCrory was elected in 2004 after defeating an incumbent, Annette W. Carter, then Hartford’s longest-serving House member, in a Democratic primary. The 2nd Senate District covers the North End of Hartford and most of Windsor and Bloomfield.