by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie
EAST HARTFORD, CT — A political earthquake struck East Hartford Monday night, according to the man left standing when the aftershocks subsided.
“I want to be clear about one thing. We just saw a political earthquake in this convention hall,” Luke Bronin told a crowd of cheering Democrats at the First District convention at Goodwin University.
U.S. Rep. John Larson receives applause from the First District convention after narrowly losing the Democratic endorsement to run for a 15th term on May 11, 2026 at Goodwin University in East Hartford, Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
Bronin, the former Hartford mayor, defeated 14-term incumbent John Larson for the party’s endorsement to run for Connecticut 1st Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives 214-204 in three rounds of voting.
The first round saw Bronin tally 181 votes to Larson’s 194. West Hartford state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest received support from 37 delegates and Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune had 8. Candidates needed 210 of the 419 delegates to secure victory.
Following a 10-minute pause for delegates to reconsider and possibly switch their votes, the revised totals were Bronin 191, Larson 162, Gilchrest 63, and Fortune 3. That result put Fortune below the threshold needed to advance to the next round and put Gilchrest above the 15% support needed to secure a spot in the August primary.
With her place on the primary ballot secure, Gilchrest withdrew her name from consideration in the next round, setting up a head-to-head showdown between Larson and Bronin, which Bronin ultimately won by 10 votes.
Bronin in his victory speech turned his attention toward President Donald Trump and the need for Democrats to secure control of Congress.
State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest addresses the media after securing a spot on the August Democratic primary ballot in the First Congressional District on May 11, 2026 at Goodwin University in East Hartford. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
“Every Democrat in this room believes that we need to stop the damage that Donald Trump is doing to our country every single day,” Bronin said.
Later, Bronin called his win “unimaginable” and said it sent a message to the party that voters have a real choice.
“What we usually see at these conventions is a coronation of the incumbent,” he said. “What we saw tonight was a sea change. What we saw tonight was the most active Democrats in the district sending a message that we want change.”
After the convention, Larson released a statement vowing to win the August primary with “working-class grit” and a coalition of progressive support.
“We’re in this fight on behalf of the working people who I serve,” Larson said. “We’re taking on Trump every day and I’m proud to be on the hit list of members he wants out of Congress. That’s not going to happen.”
Bronin supporters weren’t the only ones to leave the convention happy. Gilchrest said she had achieved her underdog campaign’s goal of securing a primary spot.
“People still seem to think money equals viability,” she said after dropping out of the balloting. “But at the end of the day, this is about getting out there, talking to folks, making connections and relationships, and people want a different kind of politics and I’m hopeful that they see that in me.”
The two political parties hold their primaries Aug. 11. In addition to Bronin, Larson, and Gilchrest, Republican Amy Chai also is a candidate in the historically Democratic-leaning district.
In the state’s other four congressional districts, incumbent U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, and Jahana Hayes all won the endorsements of their districts’ delegates.
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