Elizabeth Esty upset Connecticut Speaker of the House Chris Donovan to win the Democratic primary for Connecticut’s 5th District Congress seat Tuesday night.

She led 45 to 32 percent, with all 142 precincts reporting. A last-minute endorsement from former President Bill Clinton didn’t do much for Dan Roberti, who finished third at 23 percent.

It was a stunning defeat for Donovan, once considered a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination and a favorite in the general election. That was before his former campaign manager and finance director were arrested with six others in an alleged scheme to trade campaign cash for killing legislation in the Connecticut House. Donovan resisted calls to drop out of the race, maintaining his innocence.

Esty will face Republican Andrew Roraback, who also defeated a candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, whose campaign is facing a federal grand jury investigation.

Like Roraback, Esty wasted no time in reaching out to unaffiliated voters, who outnumber both Republicans and Democrats in the 5th District.

“People are looking for common sense approaches that are not based on ideology,” she said. “They don’t care what the letter is after the name on the ballot.”

While Esty put out negative TV ads and mailings attacking Donovan, she was not as strident in her criticism as Roberti, which some saw as a clear effort not to alienate Donovan’s strong labor union base. Unions and progressive organizations including MoveOn.Org remained loyal to Donovan despite the campaign finance scandal and arrests.

“You have to respect them for sticking with him. He has a 20-year track record with them,” she said. “But I’ve reached out to (state AFL-CIO head) John Olsen and others. I’m confident they will work hard with us because they want to keep the seat Democratic.”

Donovan conceded Tuesday night without mentioning Esty.

“While I won’t be the Democratic nominee in November, I will continue fighting for the progressive causes we’ve fought for,” he told supporters in Meriden. “Now more than ever we need to pass campaign finance reform … We need to keep fighting for our president and the things that matter.”

Donovan refused to speak to reporters following his speech. His campaign staff downplayed speculation that he could press forward with a third-party candidacy on the Working Families Party line in the general election. The Working Families Party has endorsed him, and Donovan and the party have a few weeks to decide whether to switch that endorsement to Esty or another candidate or no one.

In contrast to Donovan, Roberti offered strong and unqualified support for Esty.

“I’m going to out there I’m going to do everything I can to elect Elizabeth Esty to the United States Congress for the 5th district,” he said, “because as Democrats, we need to persevere, we need to take the House back, we need to protect this seat we had a spirited battle, a spirited debate over the last year and a half, but now it’s time to come together and so all of you who put so much energy into my candidacy, I am asking you from the bottom of my heart, it’s time to persevere and go out there and put the same amount of effort into her campaign…”

Roberti told a room full of supporters in Waterbury “the message of this campaign is to persevere” as his mother had for six years while fighting melanoma. His mother died Saturday at age 60, leading Roberti to curtail campaign appearances in the final days before the primary.

Roberti arrived with a group of volunteers, making his way from the street, hugging or shaking hands with every volunteer outside his campaign headquarters, or waiting inside the building.
Roberti thanked his family, supporters, his mother and father and his girlfriend.

“I lost my mom over the weekend, but she preserved for six years in the face of extreme adversity. When they gave her two months to live she kept going, and that’s the lesson of this campaign, is to persevere,” he said.

Roberti referenced news articles suggesting that he lied about his resume and questioning why he was keeping his personal finances secret until the night before the election.

“They attacked my character, but we know we know … the truth, and as long as you know in your heart what the truth is you’re going to get through all of that,” he said.

Esty’s victory is also a victory for Emily’s List, which supports female pro-choice Democrats running for Congress. It took on a high-profile and unusual battle with another powerhouse of national Democratic politics, MoveOn.Org, that is typically an ally. It got nasty as Emily’s List’s Super PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 5th District attacking Donovan over the federal grand jury investigation and his record as speaker of the house.

Roberti also had a Super PAC attacking opponents on his behalf. “New Directions for America,” which maneuvered to keep its donors secret until after the election, spent nearly half a million on TV ads attacking Esty and Donovan.

Roberti’s father, Washington, D.C., lobbyist Vin Roberti, opened many doors for his 30-year-old son over the course of the campaign, helping him raise nearly $1 million from large-dollar, out-of-state donors.

Roberti was endorsed by a parade of out-of-state political celebrities, including New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Clinton administration advisor James Carville, Martin Luther King III and culminating with support from former President Clinton himself on Monday.

Esty’s final vote total was 12,678 to Donovan’s 9,212 and Roberti’s 6,583.

Donovan won his hometown of Meriden by more than 1,000 votes, but lost Waterbury and Danbury and only won New Britain by a few hundred votes. Esty dominated in small towns and suburbs, while Roberti trailed throughout the district.

Reporters Jordan Fenster, Luther Turmelle and Jennifer Swift contributed to this report.

Register Citizen Staff
Elizabeth Esty upset Connecticut Speaker of the House Chris Donovan to win the Democratic primary for Connecticut’s 5th District Congress seat Tuesday night.
She led 45 to 32 percent, with all 142 precincts reporting. A last-minute endorsement from former President Bill Clinton didn’t do much for Dan Roberti, who finished third at 23 percent.
It was a stunning defeat for Donovan, once considered a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination and a favorite in the general election. That was before his former campaign manager and finance director were arrested with six others in an alleged scheme to trade campaign cash for killing legislation in the Connecticut House. Donovan resisted calls to drop out of the race, maintaining his innocence.
Esty will face Republican Andrew Roraback, who also defeated a candidate, Lisa Wilson-Foley, whose campaign is facing a federal grand jury investigation.
Like Roraback, Esty wasted no time in reaching out to unaffiliated voters, who outnumber both Republicans and Democrats in the 5th District.
“People are looking for common sense approaches that are not based on ideology,” she said. “They don’t care what the letter is after the name on the ballot.”
While Esty put out negative TV ads and mailings attacking Donovan, she was not as strident in her criticism as Roberti, which some saw as a clear effort not to alienate Donovan’s strong labor union base. Unions and progressive organizations including MoveOn.Org remained loyal to Donovan despite the campaign finance scandal and arrests.
“You have to respect them for sticking with him. He has a 20-year track record with them,” she said. “But I’ve reached out to (state AFL-CIO head) John Olsen and others. I’m confident they will work hard with us because they want to keep the seat Democratic.”
Donovan conceded Tuesday night without mentioning Esty.
“While I won’t be the Democratic nominee in November, I will continue fighting for the progressive causes we’ve fought for,” he told supporters in Meriden. “Now more than ever we need to pass campaign finance reform … We need to keep fighting for our president and the things that matter.”
Donovan refused to speak to reporters following his speech. His campaign staff downplayed speculation that he could press forward with a third-party candidacy on the Working Families Party line in the general election. The Working Families Party has endorsed him, and Donovan and the party have a few weeks to decide whether to switch that endorsement to Esty or another candidate or no one.
In contrast to Donovan, Roberti offered strong and unqualified support for Esty.
“I’m going to out there I’m going to do everything I can to elect Elizabeth Esty to the United States Congress for the 5th district,” he said, “because as Democrats, we need to persevere, we need to take the House back, we need to protect this seat we had a spirited battle, a spirited debate over the last year and a half, but now it’s time to come together and so all of you who put so much energy into my candidacy, I am asking you from the bottom of my heart, it’s time to persevere and go out there and put the same amount of effort into her campaign…”
Roberti told a room full of supporters in Waterbury “the message of this campaign is to persevere” as his mother had for six years while fighting melanoma. His mother died Saturday at age 60, leading Roberti to curtail campaign appearances in the final days before the primary.
Roberti arrived with a group of volunteers, making his way from the street, hugging or shaking hands with every volunteer outside his campaign headquarters, or waiting inside the building.
Roberti thanked his family, supporters, his mother and father and his girlfriend.
“I lost my mom over the weekend, but she preserved for six years in the face of extreme adversity. When they gave her two months to live she kept going, and that’s the lesson of this campaign, is to persevere,” he said.
Roberti referenced news articles suggesting that he lied about his resume and questioning why he was keeping his personal finances secret until the night before the election.
“They attacked my character, but we know we know … the truth, and as long as you know in your heart what the truth is you’re going to get through all of that,” he said.
Esty’s victory is also a victory for Emily’s List, which supports female pro-choice Democrats running for Congress. It took on a high-profile and unusual battle with another powerhouse of national Democratic politics, MoveOn.Org, that is typically an ally. It got nasty as Emily’s List’s Super PAC spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in the 5th District attacking Donovan over the federal grand jury investigation and his record as speaker of the house.
Roberti also had a Super PAC attacking opponents on his behalf. “New Directions for America,” which maneuvered to keep its donors secret until after the election, spent nearly half a million on TV ads attacking Esty and Donovan.
Roberti’s father, Washington, D.C., lobbyist Vin Roberti, opened many doors for his 30-year-old son over the course of the campaign, helping him raise nearly $1 million from large-dollar, out-of-state donors.
Roberti was endorsed by a parade of out-of-state political celebrities, including New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, former Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, Clinton administration advisor James Carville, Martin Luther King III and culminating with support from former President Clinton himself on Monday.
Esty’s final vote total was 12,678 to Donovan’s 9,212 and Roberti’s 6,583.
Donovan won his hometown of Meriden by more than 1,000 votes, but lost Waterbury and Danbury and only won New Britain by a few hundred votes. Esty dominated in small towns and suburbs, while Roberti trailed throughout the district.
Reporters Jordan Fenster, Luther Turmelle and Jennifer Swift contributed to this report.