Bronin, who campaigned on generational change, won 54 percent of the vote in the First District against the 14-term incumbent.
Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) lost the Democratic primary in Connecticut’s First Congressional District on Aug. 11 to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, ending a run in the House that began with his election in 1998.
Larson is the seventh House Democrat to lose a primary this year, part of a pattern of younger challengers unseating long-serving members of both parties.
Some Democratic races centered on ideological debates between progressive challengers and moderate incumbents, while others focused more on generational differences between candidates. In some races, both issues were factors voters weighed.
Bronin took 54.39 percent of the vote to Larson’s 32.69 percent, according to unofficial results posted by the office of the Connecticut secretary of state.
State Rep. Jillian Gilchrest finished with 8.17 percent, and attorney Ruth Fortune with 4.75 percent.
Bronin, 46, told supporters on stage at his election night party in Hartford that the result was “a political earthquake in Connecticut.”
“But the goal is to shake things up in Washington, D.C., and we’re just getting started,” he said.
He said the primary was about the direction of his party.
“From the start, this campaign was about something very simple, that if we are going to fix this mess that we’re in, we need to build a Democratic Party that’s bringing a whole new energy to this fight,” Bronin said.
He said that if party leaders “don’t recognize that we need to make changes, then the changes are going to come from the ground up,” and that “that’s a message our party needs to hear.”
Bronin opened his remarks by praising Larson’s career, saying the congressman “has given us a lifetime of service” and “has earned all of our respect and gratitude.”
Bronin had the support of the state’s Democratic Party, while Larson had the backing of the state’s congressional delegation and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
Larson, 78, was seeking a 15th term. He conceded on Tuesday night, speaking from the middle of a room surrounded by supporters and media.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed. No question about it. But far from disheartened,” Larson said. “We have responsibility and a job to do. And we’ve got to come together as people, as a Democratic Party, and fight for what’s right for the American people.”
He did not refer to Bronin by name in his remarks.
