Politics & Government
Lumaj considering bid for Republican U.S. Senate nomination
Would be his fifth campaign for statewide office since 2012
By Scott Benjamin
Peter Lumaj - who fled Albania 35 years ago and lived in a refugee camp before arriving in America, his country of choice - is seriously considering his fifth bid for statewide office.
Lumaj, an attorney from Fairfield, told Patch.com in a phone interview that he will likely make a decision by March 1 on seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat now held by two-term Democrat Chris Murphy of Hartford.
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"I have been speaking with potential donors," said Lumaj, who ran for the GOP nomination for that U.S. Senate seat in 2012. WWE executive Linda McMahon of Greenwich was the eventual nominee, losing to Murphy in the general election.
In 2014, Lumaj garnered 46.7 percent of the vote as the Republican nominee for Secretary of the State. Democrat Denise Merrill captured a second term that year with 51 percent of ballots in a three-way race.
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Since then, Lumaj, a strong supporter of Republican former President Donald Trump, unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2018 and was in a three-way primary in 2022 for the U.S. Senate seat held by three-term Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Greenwich. Lumaj was distant third in the primary that year. Republican National Committee member Leora Levy of Greenwich annexed the nomination in the three-way primary, with convention nominee Themis Klarides, the former state House GOP leader, placing second.
Beacon Falls First Selectman Gerry Smith officially entered the race on Tuesday, February 6, during an event in Prospect. Republicans have had primaries in three of the last four races in Connecticut for the U.S. Senate. If there is a primary, it would be held on August 13.
Through the years, Lumaj has discussed the need for America to maintain its core foundation and not become more like Europe. He has praised the United States for being the only country with both a Declaration of Independence and a Constitution.
McMahon's 43 percent share of the vote in the 2012 election was the highest in Connecticut for a U.S. Senate candidate in recent years. The GOP has not won a U.S. Senate race in the state since Lowell Weicker's election to a third term in 1982.
