A force to be reckoned with: Gevanter gets Democratic nod to run for Kassers seat in state Senate – Greenwich Time

GREENWICH Democrats in the 36th Senate District officially placed their faith in first-time candidate Alexis Gevanter as the party seeks to hold onto the seat in next months hotly contested special election.

I will spend every day between now and the election working to win this seat because we must continue to focus on prosperity and progress, Gevanter said Tuesday night at the partys virtual nominating convention. This approach is what will allow our state to recover from the pandemic even stronger than before.

If elected, she pledged to lower taxes and champion our businesses, families and schools.

I will fight to protect our essential rights with respect to voting, equality, the environment and keeping our children safe, Gevanter said. I will do this by listening, finding common ground and building coalitions to produce results.

Alex Kasser, a Democrat, unexpectedly resigned from the seat last month, just six month into her second term. Democrats quickly began to coalesce support around Gevanter, an attorney and the former leader of the Connecticut chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, after she gained Kassers endorsement.

Gevanter was approved by acclimation at the convention, with all 48 delegates voting in her favor, to become the official candidate. No other candidates were considered, and Gevanter accepted the nomination with great respect, sincerity and enthusiasm.

The 36th District covers all of Greenwich as well as portions of Stamford and New Canaan. Republicans had held the seat for decades until Kasser, in her first competitive political race, won in 2018 and was reelected in 2020.

In the Aug. 17 special election, Democrats will seek to hold onto the seat while Republicans will look to flip it back into their control and narrow the Democratic majority in Hartford by one.

Republicans want this seat back and they believe theyre entitled to it, state Rep. Stephen Meskers, D-150, said at the convention. The race is about continuing the tremendous progress on the way that has Connecticut emerging from the pandemic stronger.

Meskers said he met Gevanter when she volunteered for his campaign and said they have worked together to pass common sense gun safety laws that keep our community safer. He said he had seen her in action in Hartford and called her a force to be reckoned with.

Alexis is driven to transform policy and institutions by working within organizations to bring about change, Meskers said. She has proven herself as a leader who delivers results by bringing people together.

John Blankley was not mentioned at the convention. He had initially sought the Democratic nomination but withdrew over the weekend and said he will collect signatures to run an independent campaign, making it a three-way race.

According to the Connecticut Secretary of the States Office, Blankley must gather 568 signatures on his petition by 4 p.m. July 12. That number represents 1 percent of the total votes cast in the 2020 election and can be from any registered voter in the district.

Blankley could siphon votes away from Gevanter, improving the Republican chances in the special election, according to Greenwich Democratic Town Committee Chair Joe Angland.

In an email sent to members after the convention, Angland said, While John is a friend to many of us and has received our support in several prior campaigns, at this point he would be running against the Democratic Party candidate, and he urged Democrats to focus their efforts on electing Gevanter.

Any effort to assist John e.g., helping him obtain petition signatures to get on the ballot is likely to siphon some votes from Alexis, Anglands email said. Given how tight the race for this seat has been the last few years, even shifting 1 or 2 percent of the vote away from Alexis could put a Republican in office. We cannot afford that.

Blankley dismissed the idea that his candidacy could push the seat to the Republicans and said, I am going to win this election.

I have my own team of people who will do phone banking and do mailing, Blankley said. This is a mailing campaign. This is not a door-to-door campaign. I will get the votes I get because I have name recognition. I will take votes from Democrats. I will take votes from Republicans. And I will get votes in the middle. I am the one candidate with real business and government experience who can make a difference for the district and the state.

In a joint statement, Angland, Stamford Democratic City Committee Josh Fedeli and Lisa Hannich, chair of the New Canaan DTC, praised Gevanter and said they were thrilled to have a candidate of Alexis caliber running to fill this critical seat.

She has already demonstrated a steely determination to win and the willingness to put in the hard work needed to make it happen, the statement said.

The Republicans are expected to hold their nominating convention on Saturday, but did not announce a time and location. Three Greenwich Republicans are seeking party endorsement to run for the seat: State Rep. Harry Arora, R-151, Representative Town Meeting member Ryan Fazio and Leora Levy, a high-ranking official in the Republican National Committee.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com

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A force to be reckoned with: Gevanter gets Democratic nod to run for Kassers seat in state Senate - Greenwich Time