Gerry Smith of Beacon Falls opened a campaign for U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, an acknowledged stretch for a small-town Republican first selectman trying to unseat a Democrat in a state that hasn’t elected a GOP senator in 42 years.

Yes, Mr. Smith wants to go to Washington. But he’s not counting on it. The movie classic “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” featured a naive senator appointed to the post, and this Mr. Smith needs to defeat a two-term incumbent, Sen. Chris Murphy.

“I’m a realist. I’m OK if I win and I go to D.C., and I’m OK if I stay in Beacon Falls and I run the town of Beacon Falls,” Smith said.

Whether they’ve run on a shoestring or a fortune, Republican candidates for statewide office in Connecticut have struggled to win more than 43% of the vote, the mark Linda McMahon set against Murphy when it was an open seat in 2012.

Smith, 62, the part-time chief elected official of a town with 6,600 people, cast his campaign as an exercise in democracy, a guarantee that voters will have an option other than a Democrat.

“From what I’m told, if I don’t run, he’s unopposed. And we can’t let that happen,” Smith said.

There are two other Republicans with campaign committees, though neither show signs of trying to compete. The richer of the two, Robert Hyde, reported a campaign treasury of $51.73 at the close of the last reporting period on Dec. 31. Murphy had $8.2 million.

Ben Proto, the Republican state chairman, has modest expectations for the campaign.

“I think realistically it’s to provide the opportunity for people to see a different perspective on what can be done in Washington,” Proto said. “And look, I think we can all agree that Washington is completely dysfunctional.”

Smith said he will offer a contrast to the 50-year-old Murphy, who has been in politics most of his adult life, holding seats in the state House, state Senate, U.S. House and U.S. Senate.

“I just think that it’s time for a change. And it’s time for authentic, organic, natural non-politician business guy change,” said Smith, a commercial insurance broker and former mortgage banker.

He also once raced cars and motorcycles and owned a small racing team that competed on a NASCAR regional circuit and featured his son, Jonathan, as its driver. Like politics, he said, racing takes money.

“We got priced out,” Smith said.

Smith was an unaffiliated voter until he was elected first selectman as a Republican in 2011, defeating a long-time Democratic incumbent. He was not reelected, then won in 2019 as a petitioning candidate and again in 2021 under his own banner, the Beacon Falls First Party. 

In 2023, he won a fourth term as a Republican.

If elected to the Senate, he expected to be unpredictable: “I’ll probably be a thorn in everybody’s side, because, hey, if it makes sense and I can support it, then I support it. If I can’t, I’ll vote no.”

He has not endorsed either of the Republican candidates for president, Donald J. Trump or Nikki Haley.

“I’ve always been independent,” Smith said. “And obviously, I’m going to probably vote for — ”

He stopped himself.

“I mean, Chris Murphy is going to vote for Joe Biden, and I’m going to vote for whoever the person is on the Republican side of the table.”

Smith said he opposed the bipartisan compromise brokered by Murphy that would have funded border security and aided Ukraine and Israel, resolving an election-year headache for Biden. The House Republican leadership deemed it dead on arrival.

“I don’t understand why we have to bundle the two together. I think they’re two completely separate issues,” Smith said. “And I think it’s ironic that here we want to bundle money for Ukraine, and for Israel, and for our border.”

He said he was opposed to financial aid to Ukraine, even in a stand-alone bill, but would support sending resources such as military equipment to help it fight Russia. He described himself as a supporter of Israel.

Smith launched his campaign in a cozy function room at a VFW Post in Prospect, mingling with about 65 friends, supporters and relatives. He introduced his wife, Anne, their two married sons, daughters-in law and four grandchildren.

“There’s just a lot of people here that inspire me to keep moving on and to just go to D.C. to represent you. I’m not here to represent the Republican Party. I’m not here to represent any individuals,” Smith said. “I’m here to listen to what the people of Connecticut need me to bring down to D.C. and bring back from D.C.”