A Connecticut Party was a political party formed by former Republican

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

and gubernatorial candidate Lowell Weicker in 1990. Weicker subsequently won the 1990 gubernatorial election and served a single term as

governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's Connecticut Military Department, military forces. The Governor (United States), governor has a duty to enforce state laws, ...

. The party was intentionally named to fall alphabetically first on the ballot. In 1992 the party held its first convention with 350 delegates attending. At the convention the party endorsed more than 100 candidates for the General Assembly (about 80 Democrats, 16 A Connecticut Party candidates and a "handful of Republicans"). In 1994, Weicker's

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

, Eunice Groark, carried the ACP banner into the governor's race, but was defeated, finishing third with 18.9% of the vote. In other races for statewide or federal office, the party mostly endorsed Democrats including incumbents

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...

for US Senate,

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal ( ; born February 13, 1946) is an American politician, lawyer, and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from ...

for attorney general, Joseph M. Suggs Jr. for state treasurer, and Barbara B. Kennelly for representative in the 1st congressional district. The party also endorsed the Democratic Party candidacies of state representative Miles S. Rapoport for secretary of state, and Charlotte Koskoff for representative in the 6th congressional district. In the 2nd congressional district the party ran its own candidate, David Bingham, who finished third in a three-way race with 14.90%. However, without its own statewide officeholder, the party faded from view by the late 1990s. The party stopped running its own candidates in 1998. Starting in 2021 there is an ongoing effort to revive the party in West Hartford, however, this new party of the same name shares no legal relation to A Connecticut Party.

References

External links

Official website (2021 revival)
Defunct political parties in the United States Political parties in Connecticut Regional and state political parties in the United States 1990 establishments in Connecticut Political parties established in 1990 Political history of Connecticut Political parties disestablished in the 1990s 1990s disestablishments in Connecticut {{US-party-stub