Republicans from northwestern Connecticut endorsed state Sen. Andrew Roraback on Friday as their candidate to run in state's hotly contested 5th Congressional District race. The veteran state legislator from Goshen won the party's backing with 53 percent of the vote following three rounds of balloting.
However, Roraback still faces likely challenges from his fellow GOP candidates. All three, including businesswoman Lisa Wilson-Foley, U.S. Navy veteran Justin Bernier and businessman Mark Greenberg, each earned enough support to appear on the Aug. 14 ballot. They still have to declare whether they'll wage a primary challenge. Wilson-Foley placed second, followed by Bernier and Greenberg.
Roraback told the crowd that Friday marked the first day "of the process of putting the 5th District back into Republican hands." The seat is currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, who is running for the Senate. Murphy had defeated the last Republican to hold the seat, former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson, back in 2006. The district is considered one of the most politically balanced between Democrats and Republicans in the state, and considered winnable by both parties.
Roraback, 52 and a married father of a young son, is considered a moderate Republican in the General Assembly - a designation some of his challengers used as a criticism.
(Photo: tweeted by @MayorMark, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton)
Last weekend, state Democrats endorsed House Speaker Chris Donovan for the 5th District. He faces a primary challenge from former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty and Dan Roberti.
Besides Roraback, Republicans on Friday endorsed John Decker as the GOP candidate in the 1st Congressional District; East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica in the 2nd Congressional District; Wayne Winsley in the 3rd Congressional district and Steve Obsitnik in the 4th Congressional District. Primaries are also possible in some of those districts as well.
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