Nick Simmons Announces Candidacy For 36th State Senate District

GREENWICH, CT — Nick Simmons, a Greenwich native and former deputy chief of staff to Gov. Ned Lamont, announced his candidacy this week for the 36th State Senate District, which covers all of Greenwich and a portion of Stamford and New Canaan.

A Democrat and the younger brother of Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, Nick Simmons, 34, is looking to unseat Republican state Sen. Ryan Fazio, who was first elected to office in a special election in 2021. Fazio narrowly won reelection in 2022 over Democratic challenger Trevor Crow.

Nick Simmons said he's running to secure more funding for District 36’s schools, highways, train stations, parks, and beaches, "and to better represent the community’s values on gun safety, women’s rights, and climate change."

"Our district is ready for new leadership. I spent three years in Hartford serving as part of Gov. Lamont’s Administration, which has boldly turned our economy around and set Connecticut on a path towards prosperity," Nick Simmons said in a news release.

"When I was growing up, we always prioritized investing in our schools, our highways, and our railways. We always felt safe from gun violence. The women in my family always felt that their healthcare rights were protected. And the Republicans that I knew were always more focused on getting things done than scoring cheap political points," Nick Simmons added. "I don’t see that as the case today, and as Rachel and I start to grow our family here, we want Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan to reflect the very best of us, and to be as great for our children as it has been for so much of my life."

State Reps. Hubert Delany (D-144) and Hector Arzeno (D-151) endorsed Nick Simmons this week.

"He'll be a much-needed champion for our district in the Senate and do what it takes to fight for our values and to secure more state funding to where it's needed," Delany said.

Arzeno lauded Nick Simmons' accomplishments in the Lamont Administration.

"From achieving economic and infrastructure wins as a senior member of Governor Lamont’s team to empowering youth as an educator and helping oversee school reopening for the whole country during COVID-19, Nick has demonstrated time and again his ability to achieve results at every level of government," Delany added.

At the age of 23, Nick Simmons left a career on Wall Street to become a seventh grade math teacher in Harlem, N.Y. He then went on to earn a master's in public policy and an MBA from Harvard, and returned to Connecticut to join the Lamong Administration where he worked for three years, according to his bio.

In 2021, Simmons was tapped to serve as a senior advisor in the Biden Administration, where he helped oversee the effort to reopen schools nationwide during COVID-19.

The 36th State Senate District seat has traditionally been red, but Alex Kasser beat incumbent Republican Scott Frantz in 2018 to become the first Democrat to win the district since 1933.