Longtime anti-Trump Dem ousted after tough primary from upstart progressive mayor

Fourteen-term Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., met his match in Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin during Tuesday’s hard-fought primary race.

Larson, who has served in Congress since the Clinton administration, faced three challengers: Bronin, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest and Hartford Education Board member Ruth Fortune. The sprawling district includes Hartford, Glastonbury, Bristol and Windsor Locks.

Earlier this term, during a markup of legislation providing House members with DOGE access to Treasury payment information, Larson erupted at his colleagues and began yelling:

“You will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do. Where’s the independence of the committee? Where’s the legislature? We’re an equal branch of government,” Larson yelled. “Look at the empty seats here. Where’s Elon Musk?”

Republican challenger Amy Chai, a medical doctor focused on addiction treatment, said on her campaign site that Americans are too stressed and depressed because of national divisions and need a change.

Democrats, however, are again favored over Chai and the GOP this fall in the district.