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Connecticut Republicans pick Matt Corey to challenge Democratic US Sen. Chris Murphy

  • Susan Haigh, The Associated Press

  • Canadian Press

  • August 13, 2024

A sign for Matt Corey, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, greets GOP primary voters on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the entrance of a polling place being held at the Norwich Worship Center in Norwich, Conn. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

Matt Corey, a Connecticut entrepreneur who has unsuccessfully run for Congress multiple times, has won the Republican nomination to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy.

Corey defeated Gerry Smith in Tuesday's Republican primary. Smith is the top elected official in the small town of Beacon Falls.

Corey was the party's nominee against Murphy before, losing by 20 points in 2018. But he recently told WTNH-TV that he believes this year is different.

"It's the economy. If you look at what's happening around the state, the affordability, the open borders, the crime," said Corey, a supporter of former President Donald Trump. "There's no peace around the world right now. We're on the verge of World War III with this president."

Connecticut voters have not elected a Republican to the Senate since the late Lowell P. Weicker in 1982.

Murphy has a huge fundraising advantage: As of June 30, he had $9.7 million in cash on hand for the general election, according to federal election records, compared with $32,000 for Corey as of July 24.

Corey served in the Navy from 1982 to 1987 and was deployed to Beruit in 1983. A small businessman, he owned a window cleaning business for high-rise buildings in the state for more than 30 years. He also owned a pub in Hartford and now owns and operates a pub at a golf course in East Hartford.

Corey, who has also run multiple times and lost in the Hartford area's heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District, has accused Murphy of not doing enough for his constituents.

Tuesday's primary came as candidates in the state's most competitive congressional race were already set: a rematch between Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat seeking a fourth term, and Republican George Logan, a former state senator.

Logan, who lost to Hayes in 2022 by about 2,000 votes from a quarter of a million cast, was nominated by party leaders and didn't need to compete in a primary this year.

Meanwhile Republican voters in the 4th Congressional District were picking a challenger to another longtime Democratic politician, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes.

Bob MacGuffie, a financial executive who was a leader in the state's tea party movement, was running against Dr. Michael Goldstein, who lost in a primary in the same district two years ago.

Himes is seeking his ninth term. He had nearly $2.3 million in cash on hand as of June 30, compared with $42,750 for MacGuffie and $98,366 for Goldstein as of July 24.

Republicans held three out of Connecticut's five seats in the House as recently as 2007, but there have been none in the state's congressional delegation since since Himes succeeded former U.S. Rep. Chris Shays in 2009.