nothin New Haven Independent | Dominic Rapini Declares For U.S. Senate

Dominic Rapini Declares For U.S. Senate

Marcia Chambers Photo

The crowd at the announcement.

Dominic Rapini announcing his candidacy Monday night.

At 3 a.m. on Nov. 9, when it was clear Donald Trump had been elected president of the United States, Dominic Rapini, a Republican businessman like Trump, said to himself, Maybe, just maybe, if he could do it, so can I.” 

From that point on, Rapini, a Trump supporter, started thinking seriously about running for public office.

Like Trump, Rapini, 56, has never before run for elected office. And like Trump he aimed high; in this case, running for the U.S. Senate from the state of Connecticut.

Last night before an upbeat friendly crowd of about 120 people at the Stony Creek Brewery, Rapini, who lives in Branford with his wife and children, officially took the plunge. In the process he showed energy, enthusiasm and drive as he announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate. The election is about 17 months away.

Rapini’s aim is to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who is running for reelection on the Democratic ticket. Murphy, a popular U.S. senator, has served since Jan 3, 2013. Before that he was a U.S. Congressman and a state legislator.

Rapini is a fast-talking, idea-driven businessman whose day job centers on Silicon Valley, where he is Apple’s national account manager for retail business. His work ethic, drive and innovative approach to business earned him the title of Apple salesperson of the year twice, his biography states.

A Blueprint

After the announcement, in an interview with the Eagle, Rapini said he is different stylistically” from Trump but this is my skill set. I am a dealmaker, a salesperson and I think I am a person of good judgment. And I thought if he could do this, maybe there is a blueprint for me.”

And Trump was someone who had not run for public office … ” the Eagle said.

Exactly. I am a complete neophyte in the public sector,” Rapini replied. 

Does that concern you?” he was asked.

No, it’s funny. I have been working on this since November. It’s enjoyable,” he replied.

Putting together a campaign is not so unlike his day job, he observed. It’s like the sales, marketing business. It really is. The difference is the messaging. You have to work on messaging. I need to become good at that. Right now I am a retail person. I have been in retail for 30 years.” 

Rapini said that for the next year, he will work double time, doing his Apple job and running for the U.S. Senate. In 2018, after Labor Day, he plans to take a leave of absence from Apple to concentrate on the election.

While he and his family now live in Branford, Rapini’s roots are in New Haven and Hamden, where he grew up in a working-class family. 

He was described by one friend as a tenacious competitor who has an indomitable will to win” who seeks to bring people together. In describing himself and his values, Rapini said he wants to reach across the aisle to get things done.” 

He said he wants his voice to stand for Connecticut. It’s not about Dems and R’s. It’s about Connecticut,” he said, adding the state has lost its vision.” It is time, he said, for Connecticut to stop the bleeding, to stop the exodus.”

Another Way of Looking at Diversity

Rapini.

He said diversity has a number of meanings. Right now, he said, there are too many lawyers in the U.S. Senate. When I’m done there will only be 59 lawyers,” he said referring to Murphy’s occupation.

He said he envisions a senator’s job this way: To break through this all-Democratic delegation that we have, that’s full of lawyers, millionaires and activists, and people of one particular type of thought.”

I’m going to insert some diversity in that group,” he told supporters, including First Selectman Jamie Cosgrove and Republican legislators who attended the event. 

Rapini is a 1983 graduate of Trinity College, where he majored in biology and psychology with a concentration in neuroscience. A football and track athlete at Trinity, he capped his career as an All-American hammer thrower.

He translated his love of playing sports to coaching and leading the Hamden Pop Warner youth football and cheerleading program for more than 30 years. In 2005 he was named a member of the New Haven Football Hall of Fame. 

Immigration

In an interview following his announcement, Rapini said a top priority is finding a pragmatic solution to immigration.

After we secure the border,” he said, and criminals and gangs now here are expelled, the next stage for me is the 10 million people who are left behind. I want to find a path for legal residence for them.”

By legal residence he does not mean citizenship, at least not right away. To obtain legal residence, an immigrant must pay his or her taxes and follow the rules, he said. You are paying your taxes; you have a job, you have the right to be here. You cannot be deported for anything. But you are not voting. And you may not have access to all the services from the government but this is a step toward becoming a citizen.”

I believe you can become a citizen by joining the U.S. military, for example. Or if you get an advanced degree and you are a legal resident, yeah, you know what? We will make you a citizen. We will solve the issue of immigration,” he said. 

One friend described Rapini as a tenacious competitor who has an indomitable will to win,” a person who seeks to bring people together. In describing himself and his values, Rapini said he wants to reach across the aisle to get things done.”

A barbeque dinner was provided to the folks who attended the event. They gobbled it up. Turns out Rapini loves to cook. He made the dinner and side dishes himself and had it delivered to the Brewery.

Few knew he was the chef. 
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