Hartford, CT – We are one week away from the Republican nominating convention. And this week it’s clear that Connecticut Republican Party has descended into chaos. At every level of government, it was a tough week to be a Republican.

• The week started off with Peter Lumaj sending mailers hitting three of his Republican opponents.
• Though he may want to be careful, because one of those opponents, Tim Herbst, sent a text this week saying he would love to “put his cigar out in Mark Lauretti’s eye.” And in defense of this revelation, all Herbst had to saywas that he doesn’t remember every text he’s ever sent.
• Later in the week, Peter Lumaj held a press conference attacking the press for unfavorable coverage after Hearst looked into his frequent claims. Other than repeating his campaign rhetoric, Lumaj didn’t offer much evidence to support his claim that Hearst had their facts wrong.

• At the legislative level, Republican Representative Craig Fishbein votedagainst a bill increasing protections for domestic violence victims, saying that domestic violence is sometimes “arranged,” confusing reporters, elected officials, and anyone with basic human decency.
• To top off all of the state news, Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, admitted that he did pay his lawyer back for a payment to keep a woman quiet about their affair, thereby admitting he also lied to the American public when he originally said he had no knowledge of the payment.

“It was a tough week to be a Connecticut Republican,” said Connecticut Democratic Party Communications Director Christina Polizzi. “One thing has become abundantly clear: this isn’t the moderate Connecticut Republican Party of the past. Two of their top tier candidates ripped a page from the Trump playbook this week, threatening opponents, attacking the press, and spewing outright and obvious lies. We need a governor who will fight for Connecticut families. Unfortunately, the Republican candidates have proven time and time again that they will roll over for the Trump administration and throw Connecticut under the bus.”