They Must Be Worried. Klarides Super PAC Attacks Levy and Free Markets.
The super PAC supporting Republican Senate hopeful Themis Klarides in August 9th’s Connecticut primary must have some worrisome poll numbers that show rival Leora Levy with a late surge. Leadership Now is paying to broadcast a 30-second ad accusing Levy, a retired commodities trader, of making her fortune on high inflation.
It’s a nonsensical argument that suggests the PAC funders see Levy surging as the Greenwich Republican has tacked to the right. The first warning signs came with Klarides’s lackluster showing at the Republican nominating convention in May. The 22-year former state representative won the party’s endorsement but fell short of the 60% that she was expected to sail past.
Levy has been critical of Klarides’s support for gun control and access to abortion. The Republican National Committee member from Connecticut has performed some hasty shapeshifting, opposing women’s access to abortion services. She’s also held herself out as an opponent of regulating the availability of guns.
The commodities trading gambit is an attempt to tie Levy to the ills of inflation. It’s a risky argument for Klarides supporters. The Madison Republican is married to Eversource executive Greg Butler. The Republican operative has been a well-compensated force at the state’s dominant utility as costs have soared. Connecticut consumers pay the highest electricity rates in the continental United States.
The handful of contributors to Leadership Now must understand the importance of commodities in free market economies. One Leadership Now contributor who donated $50,000, may take a different view. William Tomasso went to jail for rigging the bidding process for state contractors during the administration of former governor John Rowland. Tomasso’s criminal conspiracy cost state taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.
The ad includes a reference to Levy’s 1998 $100 contribution to Richard Blumenthal’s re-election campaign for attorney general. Levy has blamed the donation on her husband. If Levy defeats Klarides on Tuesday she will face Blumenthal in November.
Fairfield lawyer Peter Lumaj is the third primary contender.
Published August 3, 2022.