Hartford, Ct. – Connecticut Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto and New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Raymond Buckley released the following statements in response to Governor Chris Sununu’s planned keynote address at the Connecticut Republican Party’s Prescott Bush Dinner in September.

“Instead of blaming the violence on the murderous white supremacists and neo-Nazis, GOP Chairman J.R. Romano defended Donald Trump’s response to Charlottesville, and – incredibly – compared the white supremacist rioters to the peaceful Black Lives Matter movement,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Chairman Nick Balletto. “It shows a real lack of judgment that Governor Sununu would associate himself with someone who defended the violent racists behind these events. We would expect that he urges the Connecticut Republican Party to address their equivocation on the matter before he comes to Connecticut to raise money for their efforts to double down on their support of Donald Trump.”

“While Granite Staters were looking for moral leadership, Governor Sununu was taking meetings with Republicans who spent the past week defending Nazis, Klansmen and white supremacists, said NHDP Chair Ray Buckley. “On Sunday, Sununu defended Trump’s original ‘many sides’ statement. On Monday, he secretly met with a fringe right wing group whose leader defended the Charlottesville terrorist. On Wednesday, he took 24 hours to condemn Trump under immense pressure from Democrats around the country. On Thursday, it was announced that Sununu would be headlining a Connecticut Republican Party event hosted by CTGOP Chairman J.R. Romano who equated Nazis with the Charlottesville counter-protesters. Sununu’s actions speak louder than his words, and time after time, he has demonstrated the fringe right has the ear of the governor. It would be wise of him to reconsider his attendance at this dinner.”