Connecticut Rep. John B. Larson became the seventh House Democrat to lose a primary this year when he was defeated on Tuesday by former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, whose campaign was built on a call for generational change.
With more than 95 percent of votes in, Bronin was leading the 14-term incumbent, 54 percent to 33 percent, in the Democratic primary for Connecticut’s 1st District, The Associated Press reported. Two other candidates, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest and Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune, together took the remaining 13 percent of the vote.
While several of Larson’s House colleagues were defeated by more progressive challengers, the primary in the Hartford-anchored 1st District did not cleave along ideological lines. Instead, Bronin sought to make the case that Democrats need new energy to fight against President Donald Trump.
“This is a political earthquake in Connecticut,” Bronin, a 47-year-old Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan and held positions in the Obama administration, told supporters Tuesday night in Hartford. “But the goal is to shake things up in Washington, D.C., and we’re just getting started.”
Larson, 78, is an old-school liberal who highlighted his ties to labor, his working-class upbringing and his progressive credentials, including votes against the Iraq War and against the creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. He touted his experience and clout in Washington — he was first elected in 1998 and is the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security.
He had the backing of his colleagues in the Connecticut delegation; former Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, under whom he served as chair of the House Democratic Caucus; and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, who easily won his own Democratic primary against a progressive challenger Tuesday.
The race between Larson and Bronin grew increasingly acrimonious in the campaign’s final stretch. Larson derided Bronin as a corporate Democrat whose run has been fueled by a network of billionaire donors, while Bronin attacked the incumbent for accepting political action committee donations from corporations and unions.
Bronin, who outraised and outspent Larson, had the support of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, a longtime friend; and The Bench, a new group focused on recruiting and supporting younger Democratic candidates. VoteVets, a PAC that backs candidates with connections to the military and national security, spent nearly $1 million on ads promoting Bronin, part of a burst of outside money that flooded the district in the final weeks before the primary.
After the votes were tallied, Larson called for unity.
“The process is all about the people, and tonight, the people have spoken,” Larson said. “Now’s the time for all of us to come together. … In our nation today, and with this president, this fight goes on.”
Call for change
Nine other House members have lost bids for renomination so far this year.
On the Democratic side, Texas Reps. Al Green and Julie Elizabeth Johnson lost primaries that pitted them against current or former colleagues due to redistricting. New York’s Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat, Colorado’s Diana DeGette and Michigan’s Shri Thanedar lost to more progressive challengers.
Republican Reps. Daniel Crenshaw of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Andy Ogles of Tennessee also lost primaries this year.
The ousting of a longtime House incumbent in Connecticut, however, is virtually unheard of. Until this year, no sitting House member had ever even faced a primary in the state, the Connecticut Mirror recently observed.
But Larson’s loss is further proof of the hunger for change among grassroots Democrats. A former history teacher, he’s been in politics since Jimmy Carter occupied the White House. He served on a local school board, town council and in the state Senate before coming to Congress.
Last year, Larson experienced a complex partial seizure while speaking on the House floor but later said he’s been prescribed medication that greatly reduces the likelihood of a similar episode.
He struck a philosophical note during his concession speech.
“As important as our democracy is, this is a political election,” Larson said. “Yeah, I’m disappointed, no question about it, but far from disheartened.”
Bronin will be heavily favored in November in the Hartford-centered 1st District, where voters reelected Larson in 2024 by 28 points. The former Hartford mayor will next face off against physician Amy Chai, who was unopposed in the Republican primary.
