The Connecticut Republican Party opened its two-day nominating convention Friday, rebooting a day after Erin Stewart, its one-time front runner for the gubernatorial nomination, abruptly quit, leaving the two remaining candidates to appeal to her suddenly available delegates.

A relaxed Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, assured of winning the gubernatorial endorsement Saturday, greeted delegates. A young staffer distributed invitations to a reception Friday night. Betsy McCaughey still had hopes of attracting enough Stewart delegates to qualify for a primary in August.

Ben Proto, the state party chair, opened the convention in the Mohegan Sun expo center with a plea to end the intense intra-party hostilities that have come to define a Connecticut GOP that hasn’t won a statewide or congressional election in 20 years. 

Much of it has been directed at Stewart, the former mayor of New Britain. 

“Republican-on-Republican violence has to end,” Proto said, referring to combat waged on social media, not in the streets. Of Democrats, he said, “The more we fight with each other, the better they do. … Folks, redirect your fire.”

Fazio and McCaughey addressed the convention Friday, a departure from past years. Their speeches, as well as campaign videos played in the hall, actually were money-makers for the state party. Each paid $5,000 for the right to play videos and deliver slightly freshened versions of their stump speeches.

“I will do everything I can to make this a moment of unity for our party,” Fazio said. Stewart endorsed Fazio as she suspended her campaign shortly after the release of an investigative report documenting her extensive use of a city credit card for personal purchases.

Delegates stood and chanted Fazio’s name, a reception not accorded McCaughey.

McCaughey, a Newsmax host who was New York’s lieutenant governor three decades ago, offered herself as an aggressive candidate who can challenge Gov. Ned Lamont.

“I’m going to whip him from one end of this state to the other,” she said. “I ask for your vote. What do you have to lose?”

The delegates on Friday quickly nominated three candidates by acclamation: Peter Lumaj of Fairfield for secretary of the state, Jen Tooker of Westport for comptroller, Fred Wilms of Norwalk for treasurer and John Bolton of Westport for attorney general.

On Friday afternoon, before the state convention opened, the GOP staged five simultaneous conventions in the expo center to endorse candidates in each of the state’s congressional districts.

Polling indicates that Republican upsets are unlikely in blue-state congressional races in midterms roiled by President Donald Trump’s falling approval ratings and inflation driven in large measure by an unpopular war. But that did not dissuade fights for the right to try to unseat a Democrat in three districts, including its most competitive, the 5th of western Connecticut.

In the 5th, Republicans will have a two-way primary featuring two candidates with interesting back stories: Chris Shea, a firefighter and former Navy SEAL, won the endorsement; his challenger, Jonathan De Barros, served 19 years in prison on a murder conviction overturned on appeal.

In his acceptance speech, Shea talked about his military service, his Christian faith and an experiment with “imaginative prayer” that helped inspire him to run. He said, “I actually had an experience with Jesus Christ himself sitting next to me in a chair.”

In the 4th District, Dr. Michael T. Goldstein of Greenwich won the endorsement, but Dan Miressi of Wilton qualified for a primary. In the 3rd, Chris Lancia was endorsed, but Rafael Irizarry qualified for a primary.

Debarros and Miressi said they are committed to going forward. Irizarry said, “Probably.”

The challenges are significant in all five districts.  

All favor Democrats to varying degrees as measured by the Cook partisan voting index. It measures how U.S. congressional districts or states lean Democratic or Republican compared to the national average, based on the past two presidential elections.

1st Congressional District, centered around Hartford. The incumbent is Democrat John B. Larson. The seat was last won by a Republican in 1954. Cook puts it at D+12.

The GOP nominee: Dr. Amy Fogelstrom Chai, the only Republican candidate, was nominated by acclamation. Her campaign website is ChaiForCongress.com. She reported raising $839 and had no money in her campaign account as of last month. 

At a glance: She is an internist, addiction specialist and author of “A Cypress Will Grow, Meditations for Chronic Illness.” “Dr. Amy Chai, a physician whose personal life has been touched by serious illness, uses the imagery of thorns in this devotional book to illustrate God’s transforming power in our lives.”

She registered as a Libertarian candidate for the seat in 2021 and as a Republican in 2025. She lives in North Haven, outside the district.

2nd Congressional District, eastern Connecticut. The incumbent is Democrat Joe Courtney. The seat was last won by Republican in 2004. Cook favors D+4.

The nominee: George Patrick Austin of Suffield was the only Republican candidate and won by acclamation Friday. His campaign website is votegeorgeforcongress.com. He had raised $267,962 and had $203,612 cash on hand as of last month. He lives in Suffield.

At a glance: Austin is a contractor and the son of Mexican immigrants. He says his campaign is about “standing up for families, protecting the unborn, defending the Second Amendment, and pushing back against oppressive taxes that make life unaffordable.”

3rd Congressional District, centered on New Haven. The incumbent is Democrat Rosa L. DeLauro. The seat was last won by a Republican in 1980. Cook estimates D+8.

Endorsed: Chris Lancia won on a roll call vote. His campaign web site is lanciaforcongress2026.org. He has raised $10,774 and had $6,328 cash on hand in April. He lives in Milford.

Challenger: Rafael Irizarry has not reported any raising money. He lives in Stratford.

At a glance: Lancia is a Coast Guard veteran and former federal law enforcement officer employed as a manager at TNI, a provider of fiber networks. He says he is running “to give the people of Connecticut a voice — and to help President Donald Trump finish what he started: putting America First.”

His campaign site says, “His decision to run was not made lightly, but came after witnessing policies that deeply troubled him: biological men in women’s sports, tampons in boys’ restrooms, and Americans being forced to choose between a vaccine or their livelihood.”

Irizarry would be the first Latino to represent the district. He told the New Haven Independent, “We need more leadership, more people in the Hispanic community to represent the best interests for that particular community. The first time the Irish came to the United States. The second was the Italians. Now was the Blacks. Now the Hispanics. We’ve got the train we need to follow.”

4th Congressional District, covers lower Fairfield County, including Stamford and Bridgeport. The incumbent is Democrat Jim Himes. The seat was last won by a Republican in 2006. Cook favors D+13.

Endorsed: Michael Goldstein won on a roll call vote. His campaign web site is goldsteinforcongress.com He had raised $35,185 and spent little of it as of last month. He lives in Greenwich.

Challenger: Daniel Miressi has raised $7,446 and had $1,700 cash on hand. His campaign web page is danielmiressi.com.

At a glance: Goldstein is running for Congress for the third time. He is a physician and a lawyer. He says on his campaign site, “In surgery, you can’t fake it. You diagnose the problem. You fix it. You take responsibility for the outcome.”

Daniel Miressi is a youth hockey coach and former professional hockey player. His campaign page says, “Republicans are the Big Tent party in Connecticut. The era of the ‘Blue Dog Democrat’ has long since faded away. This election isn’t just about a political party, it’s about fighting for our home and the Connecticut Way of Life. Our future — the future of the next generation — depends on this.”

5th Congressional District, covers western Connecticut from Danbury north to the Massachusetts line. The incumbent is Democrat Jahana Hayes. The seat was last won by a Republican in 2004. Cook has it at D+3.

Endorsed: Chris Shea won on a roll call. His campaign web page is chrissheaforcongress.com He had raised $197,207 and had $118,426 cash on hand last month. He lives in Cheshire.

Challenger:  Jonathan De Barros’s campaign web site is debarrosforcongress.org. He had raised $18,211 and had $6,947 cash on hand last month.

At a glance: Shea is a firefighter and retired Navy SEAL. His campaign site says, “Chris is running to protect American families, cut wasteful spending in Washington, lower the cost of living, reduce red tape, support law enforcement, and advance pro-worker, pro-business policies that put Connecticut citizens first.” 

De Barros says he was wrongly convicted of a homicide, a conviction later reversed on appeal. His campaign page says, “While incarcerated, Jonathan immersed himself in study, reading history, philosophy, religion, and political thought, including works by Plato, Marcus Aurelius, Booker T. Washington, and Thomas Sowell.”