A deal to join forces at the top of the ranks of the Democratic Party gubernatorial campaign complicates the potential candidacy of New Haven State Sen. Gary Winfield for the position of lieutenant governor.
Winfield, who has represented New Haven in the state legislature since 2009, was on the cusp this week of announcing that he would seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor at this coming weekend’s state party convention.
Then the news broke Monday afternoon that leading gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont had struck a deal with his top party rival, Susan Bysiewicz. Bysiewicz agreed to drop her own gubernatorial candidacy to run as Lamont’s lieutenant governor candidate.
Winfield said Monday afternoon that he didn’t immediately know if that means he’ll drop a bid for lieutenant governor as well.
“I don’t know. I just found out five six minutes ago. I hadn’t gone all the way [in] yet,” Winfield said. “I don’t make snap decisions.”
He questioned whether an all-white gubernatorial/lieutenant governor ticket is a smart move for the Democrats this year. (Winfield is African-American; Lamont and Bysiewicz are white.)
“Whether it’s me or anybody else, diversity was something that was part of the conversation from the beginning this year,” he said. “We’ve had a female lietuenant governor and governor before. We haven’t never had a person of color. I’m not saying it has to be a man. It’s interesting when that was part of the conversation, how little was made toward making an attempt toward that.
“You’re going to rely on certain communities to get over the hump. Those communities want to see themselves reflected on the ticket.”
Lamont, who is self-financing his campaign, poured almost $10 million into his failed Democratic gubernatorial primary campaign in 2010. Bysiewicz was seeking to run under the state’s public-financing system; even if she had qualified, she still would have been limited to spending $1.25 million.
Two other Democrats, Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim and former liquor executive Guy Smith, have said they plan to gather voter signatures on petitions to force a party gubernatorial primary.
An earlier version of this story follows:
Winfield Weighs Lieutenant Governor Run
Markeshia Ricks Photo
Gary Winfield.
A New Haven politician may seek statewide office this year, after all.
That person is State Sen. Gary Winfield. Political circles were abuzz Friday with the news that he may seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.
Winfield, who has taken a leading role on civil rights and social justice issues since first getting elected to the state legislature in 2008, confirmed in a conversation with the Independent that he’s seriously considering the run.
He has until next Friday to decide. That’s when the Democrats gather for their statewide nominating convention.
“Lots of people from different places have talked to me about it,” Winfield said. “I’m open to the possibility.”
He said he had previously weighed a run, but held off until the recent birth of his twins. (Read about that here.)
He noted that as an African-American he would add “diversity” to the Democratic ticket, and said his knowledge of how to negotiate with people and work “inside the building”— the state Capitol— would add needed experience.
New Haven Democratic Town Chairman Vincent Mauro Jr. welcomed the idea of a Winfield candidacy.
“Gary would bring generational change into the race,” Mauro said, delicately alluding to the fact that Baby Boomers have been dominating the races for statewide offices in both parties. Winfield is 44.
Another next-generation candidate, New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, announced Friday that she’s seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. Stewart, 31, had previously launched a gubernatorial campaign, but concluded she lacked enough support within the party.
Winfield is “smart, progressive. He’s a veteran of the Navy. He’d be a formidable candidate,” Mauro said. He noted that New Haven has the largest delegation to the state convention and produces more votes than any other city for statewide Democratic candidates.
Joe Fox, senior adviser to gubernatorial candidate Susan Bysiewicz, welcomed the idea of a Winfield candidacy. His “progressive voice” would “add to the race,” Fox said.
State Democratic Chairman Nick Balletto said he knows of only one other Democratic contender for the lieutenant governor nomination, Eva Bermudez of Newtown.
He called both Bermudez, a labor organizer who had previously considered challenging Secretary of the State Denise Merrill in a primary, and Winfield are “very credible candidates” for lieutenant governor.
“Gary is an unbelievable state senator, very dedicated public servant. He has served New Haven very, very well,” Balletto said.
I think if Joe Ganim is the nominee, which is a 50/50, then that ticket will be too urban. The suburbs will not want a Bridgeport/New Haven ticket. Having said that, note that Ganim has the best shot and here is why: if Ned LaMont is the nominee, than it is almost certain Susan B and Ganim will force a primary. Susan and Ned will split the liberal vote, and Ganim will emerge as the centrist, pragmatic nominee. Its not a crazy scenario, and in the Trump era, is it really any scandal that he took fancy dinners and bottles of wine? He served his time and did his time. If we believe in a second chance society, than he exemplifies that. He was reelected in Bridgeport, because among African Americans, transgressions of the law are not looked at with the same stigma as in the white community. This is not a racist comment, it is a fact because the law targets people of color, so more are unfairly embroiled in it. If LaMont is the nominee, my money is on Mayor Harp. Ned might be past his sell by date and sacrificial lamb in a difficult year given Malloy's unpopularity. Having said that, I voted for him twice before. At least the dems have a solid bench! The GOP bench is very weak. But if the GOP can nominate someone generic, they might squeak by, even in a wave year. But I think its Governor Ganim in a squeaker.