As the Connecticut Republican Party prepared to showcase its candidates for U.S. Senate and Congress, Chairman J.R. Romano created a media controversy Friday by banning a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter, Neil Vigidor, from its state convention on Monday.
J.R. Romano
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Fiorina keynote speaker for a CT GOP that went big for Trump
Carly Fiorina was announced nine days ago as the keynote speaker of the Connecticut GOP’s annual fundraiser, the Prescott Bush Awards Dinner. She signed on Wednesday to the stop-Trump movement as Ted Cruz’s running mate, less than 24 hours after Donald J. Trump won the Connecticut primary in a landslide.
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State Rep. Carter ‘seriously considering’ Blumenthal challenge
WASHINGTON — State Representative Dan Carter, a Republican from Bethel, is weighing a run against Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “I am seriously considering it,” Carter said. “So much so that I withdrew all my filings to run for re-election in the state assembly.”
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Bush departure opens field in CT for GOP presidential candidates
WASHINGTON – No GOP presidential candidate raised as much campaign money or made as many stops in Connecticut as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whose departure from the race gives those remaining in the GOP field a better shot at the state’s delegates. But members of the state’s Republican power structure haven’t, for the most part, indicated who they will support.
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No surprises on ballot choices for CT presidential primary
There were no surprises or controversies Tuesday in Secretary of the State Denise Merrill’s choices for ballot access in the April 26 primary in Connecticut: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic ballot; The Republicans are Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz, John R. Kasich, Marco Rubio and Donald J. Trump.
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3 GOP challengers looking to oust Esty
WASHINGTON– Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s latest Republican challengers may not have Andrew Roraback’s name recognition or Mark Greenberg’s wealth, but they are all determined to win the right to represent the 5th District in Congress and change the composition of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation. They are Matt Maxwell of Sandy Hook, Clay Cope of Sherman and John Pistone of Brookfield.
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New leader, but same result: CT GOP trails in fundraising
The Connecticut Republican Party struggled to compete financially during J.R. Romano’s first six months as state chairman, collecting about 29 cents for every dollar contributed to the state Democratic Party, according to reports filed over the weekend.
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With eye on ’16, GOP hits Malloy in municipal races
In mailings coordinated by the state Republican Party and in campaign materials independently crafted by GOP candidates, voters are being urged to express their disapproval at the polls next week of an unpopular Democrat not on any ballot, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Call it the soft opening of the 2016 campaign.
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Young new GOP state chair promises ‘tenacity’
J.R. Romano was on the phone in his downtown Hartford office, confronting a daily reality of being the new chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party: The 36-year-old former marketer, securities dealer and college football player was cultivating a donor. He says he knows how to sell.
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Connecticut GOP picks J.R. Romano, 36, as state chair
J.R. Romano was elected Republican state chairman on the second ballot Tuesday, putting a 36-year-old political operative at the helm of a GOP that failed last year to unseat an unpopular Democratic incumbent, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.
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A fight for the helm of a shrinking Connecticut GOP
Connecticut Republicans are to settle a wide-open race for state chairman Tuesday night at Nuchie’s, the banquet hall in Bristol where $26-per-person buys an overflowing buffet table, a cash bar and a guarantee, “You will never go wrong at Nuchie’s!” The GOP hopes so.