Amybeth Laroche brings financial and private sector experience to the race for the State Senate

The contrast between Amybeth Laroche and Rob Blanchard couldn't be clearer.

Laroche has spent 13+ years in the private sector negotiating contracts, analyzing financials and making calls she has to answer for when the numbers come back. Blanchard has spent most of his career in insider politics and government, much of it in communications, public relations and political messaging.

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Put simply, Laroche has the skills Hartford needs: financial discipline, tough negotiation and accountability. Blanchard has the skills Hartford wants: handling the press, keeping the message on track and putting the administration's decisions in the best possible light.

Over her career, Laroche has managed billions of dollars in complex contracts, negotiating agreements, analyzing budgets and financials, ensuring compliance, and identifying waste and inefficiencies. She has also helped build contracting departments from the ground up, implementing policies and systems designed to strengthen oversight and accountability.

Those skills translate directly to the challenges facing Connecticut: understanding where the money goes, questioning unnecessary spending, negotiating difficult agreements and making tough financial decisions.

Rob Blanchard brings a very different résumé.

Blanchard worked on Ned Lamont's 2018 campaign before joining the Lamont administration as Deputy Communications Director. He later served as Chief of Staff to State Comptroller Sean Scanlon, returned to the governor's office as Communications Director, and in April 2026 moved to a senior adviser role on Lamont's re-election campaign. His private-sector experience consists of about two years at a PR firm.

Much of Blanchard's professional background has centered on explaining policies, promoting initiatives, managing public relations and communicating the agendas of political leaders. Those could not be more different from the skills Laroche is offering.

Connecticut faces difficult questions about spending, taxes and affordability. The next State Senator will be voting on billions of dollars in state spending and making decisions that directly affect Connecticut taxpayers. Hartford has no shortage of people who can explain a bad budget to the press. What it needs is someone who can question the numbers in it.

Connecticut needs someone experienced in negotiation fighting for our district, not someone good at smoothing over errors trying to sell us a lousy deal they couldn't win.

The question for our district's voters is simple: given the abysmal state of Connecticut's financials, which background do you want at the table when those financial decisions are being made?