Defiant: Women legislators issue call to action in 1st CD. “We’ve endured a world built without us in mind.”

Eighteen Democratic women serving in the legislature have signed on to an emphatic call to action in the First Congressional District. No more “being told to sit quietly and wait.”

The declaration conveys a sense of urgency and endorses Jillian Gilchrest for Congress. Her election would, they note, give Connecticut a House delegation with a majority of women.

Gilchrest represents part of West Hartford in the state House of Representatives. She is seeking to unseat incumbent Representative John Larson as he seeks a 15th term. Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, Ruth Fortune, a Hartford school board member; and Southington council member Jack Perry are also challenging Larson.

Democratic delegates will meet next May to endorse a candidate. A primary is expected to follow in August. It will be the first time in more than 50 years of primaries in Connecticut that an incumbent member of House of Representatives has been challenged in one.

Not every Democratic woman serving in the legislature agreed to sign the Gilchrest endorsement. Most of those on the list do not live in the First Congressional District, but they all have some experience in raising campaign money. That will be one test of the Gilchrest supporters’ commitment to the campaign and will be seen in the Democrat’s fourth quarter fundraising report that she files in January. It will need to be significantly better than Gilchrest’s third quarter report. Primaries are expensive, especially when the result determines who wins the November election.

Next year will mark the 70th anniversary of the last time the district elected a Republican to the House.

Published December 10, 2025