He now prefers Goldstein to Miressi

By Scott Benjamin

The former chairman of the Fairfield Republican Town Committee who nominated challenger Daniel Miressi this spring at the Fourth District GOP convention has now endorsed the party-endorsed nominee, Michael Goldstein.

In a video, James Millington said his decision was based in part on Miressi of Norwalk not responding to his request for a meeting after the convention.

Millington said that he wanted the party to avoid an August 11 primary.

Miressi replied in an e-mail statement, “Some political insiders seem to believe that contested primaries are bad for the party. I believe the opposite. Primaries energize voters, force candidates to earn support, sharpen ideas, and strengthen the eventual nominee. Democracy isn’t something to fear, it should be embraced.”

“We earned nearly 40% of the delegates at our convention,” he added. “We earned our place on the ballot. We didn’t ask anyone for permission to run, and we’re certainly not asking anyone’s permission to continue.”

Millington said that since the convention, held in May at Mohegan Sun in Montville, he has been impressed that Goldstein has offered a comprehensive platform, attended public events and campaigned with other Republican candidates.

In a statement, Goldstein wrote that Millington “watched me show up at Republican town committees, community events, and local gatherings across the Fourth District. He watched me answer difficult questions, engage directly with voters, and remain accessible on social media”

Miressi ran at the 2024 Fourth District GOP convention and then withdrew after the first ballot. He was the GOP candidate in the 25^th state Senate District in 2022, losing to Norwalk Democrat Bob Duff, who is currently the majority leader in the upper body.

One of the key components of Miressi’s platform is adoption of a flat tax, a proposal that former Republican presidential contender Steve Forbes underscored a generation ago.

Goldstein, an eye doctor and attorney from Greenwich, had waged primaries in 2022 and 2024 in the Fourth Congressional District.

He collected signatures four years ago to compete against former Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, who prevailed in the August balloting. He placed second to former financial executive Bob McGuffie of Fairfield at the 2024 convention and then captured the primary, largely on a huge margin in Stamford, the second largest city in the 17-munciipality district, and Greenwich, which ranks fourth in population.

The district extends north to Oxford and Shelton.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat incumbent Jim Himes of Greenwich, a former Wall Street executive and affordable housing administrator. Himes initially won the seat in 2008 over Republican Chris Shays of Bridgeport. Shays had served since 1987 and since his 2006 victory no Republican has been elected to the U.S. House in Connecticut.

Himes has annexed at least 59 percent of the vote in each election since 2016.

In response to Millington’s video, Miressi further stated, “For too long, political insiders have acted as though they, not Republican voters, should decide who represents our party. That approach is unacceptable.”

"After years of electoral losses and too many uncontested races, the answer cannot be to further limit competition or voter participation,” eh wrote. “If Republicans want to rebuild, we need to earn the confidence of the electorate, not ask them to simply ratify decisions already made by political insiders.”