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Connecticut Republicans pick candidates to take on 2 veteran Democrats in Congress

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Connecticut Republicans pick candidates to take on 2 veteran Democrats in Congress


With the fight for Congress on the line, Republicans are poised to finalize their field of challengers in Connecticut, which hasn’t sent a Republican to Washington in nearly two decades.

Tuesday’s primary comes as candidates in the state’s marquee congressional race are already set: Democratic Rep. Jahana Hayes, who is seeking a fourth term, will face a rematch with Republican George Logan, a former state senator. Logan lost to Hayes in 2022 by about 2,000 votes, from a quarter of a million cast.

Republicans are now choosing the people they think are best positioned to carry the party’s banner in less competitive races against two longtime Democratic representatives: Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes.

In the Senate primary, Gerry Smith, the top elected official in the town of Beacon Falls, faces Matt Corey, a restaurant operator from Glastonbury.

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Both say they believe Murphy can be beaten but acknowledge that it will be a challenge. Connecticut voters have not elected a Republican to the Senate since the late Lowell P. Weicker in 1982.

Corey, who served in the Navy, lost to Murphy by a margin of 20 percentage points in 2018, but he contends that the mood among voters in 2024 benefits Republicans, given the frustration with high energy costs and inflation.

“Listen, we live in a very tough state,” Corey said recently on WTNH-TV, referring to the state’s history of electing Democrats. “We have to convince the voters that the policies that Democrats have are not working for the citizens of the state of Connecticut.”

Smith, the first selectman in Beacon Falls, insists that he’s the better candidate because of his experience running a community and his electoral success on the local level.

“My first race, I beat a 14-year Democrat incumbent. I can win this race,” Smith recently posted on the social platform X. “The only (way) Mr. Corey is going to DC is if he goes down there on vacation.”

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Murphy, who is seeking a third term, has far outpaced both GOP candidates in fundraising. As of June 30, he had $9.7 million in cash on hand for the general election, according to federal records. Smith had $4,245 while Corey had nearly $32,000 as of July 24.

In the Republican primary to pick a challenger to Himes in the 4th Congressional District, Bob MacGuffie, a financial executive who was a leader in the state’s tea party movement, is 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.



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Connecticut

Watch New Canaan vs. Cheshire in Connecticut Class L football championship: Live stream

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Watch New Canaan vs. Cheshire in Connecticut Class L football championship: Live stream


New Canaan faces Cheshire in the 2025 Connecticut high school Class L football state championship on Saturday afternoon.

The game begins at 4 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 13, at Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.

The game will stream live on the NFHS Network.

High school football championships on NFHS Network

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What: Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference (CIAC) Class L football championship

Who: New Canaan vs. Cheshire

When: Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025

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Where: Veterans Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut

Time: 4 p.m. EST

Stream: NFHS Network

Tickets: $11,50

Record, MaxPrep state rankings: New Canaan 12-0, No. 1; Cheshire 9-3, No. 11

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Here’s more information about the game from the Hartford Courant, via the Tribune News Service:

New Canaan is going for its 16th state title and fourth straight under veteran coach Lou Marinelli and New Canaan outscored its playoff opponents, 85-13. Cheshire’s last finals appearance was 2009, when coach Don Drust was an assistant for the Rams’ team, which beat Staples in overtime to win a Class LL title. Cheshire rallied from a 19-point deficit against Fairfield Ludlowe to win the Class L quarterfinal game and beat Ridgefield 21-0 in the semifinals. QB Aiden Gregorich’s pass to Liam Suomala proved to be the game-winning touchdown with 10 seconds left in the quarterfinal.

What is the NFHS Network?

The NFHS Network covers more than 30 sports across the country. NFHS Network costs $13.99 per month or $79.99 per year.



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Could mini-liquor bottles be banned in Connecticut?

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Could mini-liquor bottles be banned in Connecticut?


Have you still seen a lot of mini-liquor bottles, littering the streets in Connecticut?

Members of one environmental group said they still see them, and believe a ban is the best way to solve a multi-tiered problem.

State data shows in the past 12 months, ending September 30, there were more than 93 million mini-liquor bottles sold in our state.

The group supporting local bans says it’s not just the litter, but also the fact mini-liquor bottles are easy to conceal and consume on the job, in the car, or at school.

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The group “Connecticut Towns Nixing the Nip” met this week, working on strategies to get a legislative hearing on the issue in the upcoming 2026 session.

Right now, stores collect a 5-cent surcharge for every mini-liquor bottle sold, resulting in about $5 million annually for town and city environmental cleanup efforts.

Town funding from nip sales

Average revenue per year 2021 to 2025.

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“Having talked to a number of towns, well a few towns, they like the money, said Tom Metzner, a member of the group. “It’s fairly broad in how it can be used. It’s environmental. It doesn’t have to be used for cleaning up nips. And so the towns have become somewhat silent on the issue of banning nips.”

The group cited Chelsea, Massachusetts, where minis are banned, both litter and alcohol related EMS calls decreased.

The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Connecticut, which devised the “nickel per nip” program, said banning the mini-liquor bottles would be unprecedented.

Instead, it said the environmental group should be challenging municipalities to prove they actually use the money for cleanup.

Legislative leaders suggested several years ago the way to really do this is to have a redemption program for mini liquor bottles, and now, that could be possible.

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At least one state with the Clynk bottle collection program has redeemed mini-liquor bottles for cash.

The company just announced a major expansion in our state, but it told us it is not aware of a redemption program for mini-liquor bottles here any time soon.



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National trust in the federal government is low. CT residents agree

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National trust in the federal government is low. CT residents agree


National trust in the federal government is at some of its lowest levels in nearly seven decades, and many Connecticut residents fall in line with that belief, a survey found.

New data from the Pew Research Center found only 17% of Americans believe that what the government does is right either “just about always” or “most of the time,” hitting one of the lowest points Pew has seen since first asking this question in 1958. And according to a DataHaven survey, Connecticut residents trust the federal government less than state or local institutions.

While these are some of the lowest polling numbers seen in American history, national trust in the federal government has been on the decline for decades. Public trust initially dropped in the 1960s and ’70s during the Vietnam War from a near 80% but began rising again in the 1980s into the early ’90s. Trust peaked again after 9/11 before falling.

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The DataHaven survey found that of all Connecticut residents surveyed, only 9% trust the federal government “a great deal” to look out for the best interests of them and their family. About 28% trust the federal government “a fair amount.”

Federal government trust among Connecticut residents was at its highest in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the federal stimulus programs and child tax credit were active.

The DataHaven survey also asked about trust in local and state government. Connecticut residents generally trust these institutions more than they trust the federal government, the survey found.

Trust in the local governments was higher than trust in both state and federal, with 67% of residents surveyed trusting their local government “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”

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And when it came to state government, 61% of residents trust the state “a great deal” or “a fair amount.”



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