Winner Declared In CT GOP U.S. Senate Race To Face Blumenthal

CONNECTICUT — Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Leora Levy was declared the winner of the U.S. Senate Republican primary against former state House of Representatives minority leader Themis Klarides.

The Associated Press called the race around 11 p.m. Levy declared victory and Klarides conceded. Levy will face off against incumbent Sen. Richard Blumenthal in November.

Klarides received the party endorsement going into the election, but Trump endorsed Levy late last week and helped her in a telethon fundraiser Monday. Levy held a 10 percentage point margin (about 8,000 votes) as of 11 p.m. with 74 percent of precincts reporting, according to the Secretary of the State election night reporting system.

According to the Connecticut Secretary of State website, Levy ended up with 45,725 votes, Klarides, 36,275, and Peter Lumaj with 8,474 votes.

Trump cited Levy's work for the Republican National Committee and said she would be an advocate for Connecticut and conservative values. She was nominated by the former president to be the U.S. ambassador to Chile in 2019, but her nomination was never confirmed.

She has served as the finance chair for the past two Republican gubernatorial nominees, and has served as the Republican national committeewoman for Connecticut since 2016.

Klarides is the former State House of Representatives minority leader. She said Trump shouldn't run again for president because it would be bad for the country.