Republican congressional candidate Michael Goldstein won the primary for Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District and now faces an uphill battle in November matched up against longtime Democrat Congressman Jim Himes.
The primary saw two Republican candidates vying for the nomination: physician Michael Goldstein and former financial executive Bob MacGuffie. MacGuffie, a former local Tea Party leader during the Obama administration era, received the GOP’s endorsement at the district convention in May over Goldstein.
The state’s 4th Congressional District sits right outside of New York City, encompassing cities such as Bridgeport, Fairfield and Greenwich.
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The pair did not differ drastically from one another during the primary season on policies, agreeing on the need to address issues such as inflation, the crisis at the U.S. southern border and expensive utility bills in the state, the CT Mirror previously reported. The two differed on style and how they would go about challenging Himes in the general election, the outlet reported.
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“Nobody’s really taken the case aggressively to Jim Himes,” MacGuffie told NBC Connecticut, arguing that Republicans have not been aggressive in their previous pursuits to unseat the longstanding congressional Democrat.
“What I’m trying to do is to motivate Republicans not to give up,” MacGuffie added in comments to the CT Mirror. He said he wants to see Republicans try to “appeal to the unaffiliated [voters] who are looking for people to take a strong stand on their behalf. They’re not the mushy middle. They are principled people.”
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“My opponent is a guy who’s primary thing is about yelling at Jim Himes, and I’m much more about problem-solving,” Goldstein said ahead of election day.
As recently as 2007, Republicans held three of Connecticut’s five House seats. But there have been no Republicans representing the Constitution State in Congress since Himes’ successful run in 2008, the AP reported.
Democrat incumbent Himes has held the congressional seat for eight terms since taking office in 2009, signaling an uphill battle for the Republican ticket come November. Himes, who is not facing a primary challenger this cycle, earned nearly 60% of the vote during the 2022 election, when he ran against Republican Jayme Stevenson, who received nearly 40% of the votes.
Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District is considered a “safe” election for the Democratic Party, according to political analysts with Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
