GOP Picks Candidate Monday Night for Ted Kennedy’s Seat

BRANFORD, CT - A former Major League Baseball player and a well known Planet Fitness franchise owner will square off in Guilford Monday night in a fight for the Republican party’s nomination to replace Democrat Ted Kennedy in the 12th Senate District.

Kennedy has announced that he won’t be seeking re-election.

The seat takes on extra importance as currently the state Senate is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans - with each side holding 18 seats. If Kennedy’s seat went to a Republican and the rest of the seats remained the same - the Senate would swing to the Republicans.

Branford resident Adam Greenberg is seeking the Republican nomination. Greenberg is best known for being a former Major League Baseball player who was hit in the head in his first appearance at the plate while playing for the Chicago Cubs.

He went on to play minor league baseball in Bridgeport and authored a book about his life in baseball. He is the founder and current CEO of LuRong Living, a nutritional and wellness company.

Fellow Republican Jerry Mastrangelo, a Branford resident, also is running for the 12th Senate seat.

Mastrangelo is a well-known businessman, and co-owner of multiple Planet Fitness gyms in the greater New Haven area.

The 12th district includes all or part of Branford, Guilford, Madison, Durham, Killingworth and North Branford.

The Democratic convention will be held next Monday, May 21st, also in Guilford.

Christine Hunter Cohen of Guilford announced several weeks ago that she will seek the Democratic nomination.

Cohen, owner of Cohen’s Bagel Company in Madison, also serves on the Guilford Board of Education. Prior to founding her own company, Cohen was a marketing and global planning manager at the Stanley Works of New Britain.

Andy Gottlieb, a 24-year-old from Guilford, announced he will be seeking the seat.

Gottlieb is a graduate of the Guilford public schools and is a member of the Guilford Democratic Town Committee, Shoreline Indivisible’s Connecticut Politics Action Team and the

Kennedy, a Branford Democrat who currently holds the seat, said he wasn’t running for another term because he wanted to spend more time in his role as chairman of the American Association of People with Disabilities.