Projected Winner In CT's U.S. Senate Race Revealed

CONNECTICUT — Sen. Richard Blumenthal is projected to win a third term in the Senate, according to the Associated Press. The AP called the race at 8 p.m. when polls closed.

Blumenthal thanked his volunteers and supporters during a victory speech before 9 p.m.

"In case anybody had any doubts, I am fired up, I'm ready to fight, and we begin now to keep going, working and fighting for the people of Connecticut," he said.

As of Wednesday morning, Blumenthal received 672,000 votes compared to 501,861 for Levy.

Blumenthal, a well-known figure in Connecticut politics for decades, faced off against Donald Trump-endorsed Republican Leora Levy. Blumenthal went into the race with a large campaign finance advantage. (Don't miss local news from your hometown. Sign up for free Patch news alerts and daily newsletters).

Levy said she called Blumenthal to concede and wished him well in the next six years. She said she would continue to work for a more prosperous and safer America.

Levy bested moderate Republican and former State House Minority Leader Themis Klarides in the Republican primary. Levy is a GOP fundraiser and was nominated to the Republican National Committee in 2017.

Eyes in Connecticut are focused on statewide and congressional races. The gubernatorial race is between Gov. Ned Lamont, Republican Bob Stefanowski and Independent Party candidate Rob Hotaling. (Check here for updates on the governor race.)

The 5th Congressional District race between Democratic incumbent Rep. Jahana Hayes and Republican George Logan is expected to be close. (Check here for updates.)

Richard Blumenthal

Blumenthal is projected to win a third term in the U.S. Senate, according to the AP. He was a longtime state attorney general before his time in D.C.

Blumenthal is a member of judiciary, armed services and veterans’ affairs, commerce, science and transportation and aging committees, as well as the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection.

He is perhaps best known for his consumer protection efforts, including taking on Big Tobacco as state attorney general. More recently, Blumenthal has focused his consumer protection efforts on big tech. Last year, he chaired a bipartisan hearing on social media and how it affects teen mental health. His office created a fake Instagram account to research how teens are led to potentially harmful content.

He is also a strong supporter of gun control and helped pass the bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was the largest national gun law change in decades.

Former President Donald Trump and Blumenthal share no love for each other. Trump often took to Twitter to criticize Blumenthal prior to the former president’s ban. He often referred to Blumenthal as “Da Nang Dick” and blasted Blumenthal for his misleading statement about his military service during the Vietnam War. However, Trump’s description of Blumenthal’s misleading statement grew more exaggerated over time, according to Fact Check.

Blumenthal frequently criticized Trump’s actions as president and sued him in 2017 over allegations that he violated the Foreign Emoluments clause.

Leora Levy

Levy is a Greenwich resident. Her family escaped communist Cuba in 1960 and came to the United States.

She was a financial trader at Phibro Salomon, according to her campaign biography.

She later became a philanthropist and political fundraiser for the GOP, according to the Connecticut Mirror. Levy was named to the Republican National Committee in 2017 and was nominated by Trump to be the ambassador to Chile, but the Senate never confirmed her.

Levy bested former House Republican Leader Themis Klarides in the August primary by nearly 10,000 votes. She was endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Levy was previously pro-choice, but changed her position in recent years. She is now opposed to abortion unless the mother’s life is in jeopardy or the pregnancy is a product of rape or incest. She is supportive of birth control access.

During a Republican primary debate, she said some of the top issues for the country include, “...the economy, the invasion at the border, the rising crime, the indoctrination of our children with critical race theory and the division of our society between one race and the other."