In the 5th: Endorsements for Esty, Bernier and Staffers Part Ways

It was a busy day in the Fifth District Congressional race Wednesday. Democrat Elizabeth Esty saw her second newspaper endorsement of the week, this time from The Hartford Courant. The endorsement, entitled, “Esty: A Woman of Principle in the 5th District” concludes, saying, “In short, Ms. Esty would bring strength of character and well-thought-out positions to Congress, neither of which are in oversupply.”

The Register Citizen, which has covered the race extensively, endorsed Esty Sunday, calling her “a good candidate in any race,” and a standout in the “circus-like” Democratic primary. The piece notes that all three Democrats share nearly identical positions on the issues and would emulate current U.S Rep. Chris Murphy’s voting record. The newspaper also asserts that House Speaker Chris Donovan, the Democrats’ embattled nominee, cannot win.

At the same time, Chris Powell of the Journal Inquirer penned an editorial saying that Donovan personifies state Connecticut’s saleable political economy. “Donovan… long has owned the franchise on Connecticut's public employee unions, which are sticking with him even as the scandal grows and suspicion about him jeopardizes his party's hold on the 5th District seat in Congress,” Powell writes.

Democrats in the Fifth District race will face off in their final debate Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Oliver Wolcott Library, 160 South St., Litchfield, hosted by the League of Women Voters.

Republican Justin Bernier, a Farmington native now living in Plainville, lost two campaign staffers, campaign manager Jonathan Hanen and spokesman Jonathan Scott, just two weeks before the primary. The two spoke positively of Bernier in parting, however, according to a Meriden Record-Journal article. 

Bernier, who lost the Republican nomination to Sam Caligiuri last time around, is fighting for his party’s support, though some have criticized his combative tone, notable in the Brookfield GOP debate, also this week.

Editor's note: This article incorrectly identified Mark Greenberg as the 2010 GOP nominee. It has been corrected.