Larson and Bronin — once close colleagues — now battling each other in CT race for Congress

Hartford Courant – Friday, August 15, 2025
By Christopher Keating

As two fellow Democrats who had supported each other for years, U.S. Rep. John Larson did not think it was unusual when former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin asked to meet with him.

The two had been talking about Bronin’s political future after he had stepped down after eight years as the capital city’s mayor. But Larson was stunned when Bronin said he was considering running for the seat that Larson currently holds.

“We had many conversations about him running for governor, so the reason I thought he was kidding was because I thought he was calling me about what his decision was going to be on running for governor,” Larson told The Courant in an interview Thursday. “His exact words were: I’m not running for Congress. I am running for governor, and I am supporting you for Congress.”

Larson said that Bronin even contributed money to his congressional campaign in March of this year and had previously nominated him at the 2022 convention for Congress.

Those aspects of their political history caused Larson to be flabbergasted by Bronin’s decision to challenge him in a Democratic primary that could eventually turn into a five-way race in August 2026.

“I’m old fashioned enough to know when someone gives you their word and then has a change of mind,” Larson said. “I’m old school enough to look someone in the eye, and say, OK, well thank you, I appreciate your support. And when you contributed to your campaign as early as March of this year. Do you mean he didn’t tell you that?”

Bronin has contributed to a wide variety of Democratic candidates going back to his days as a student more than 20 years ago, including $300 to Larson in September 2021 and then another $200 to Larson in November 2021, according to Open Secrets, which tracks campaign contributions nationwide.

“John and I have had many conversations over the years, but in the conversation we had a month ago, I shared with him my deep concern about what was happening in Washington and also about the Democratic Party,” Bronin told The Courant. “And I shared my belief that if we, as a party, are going to win back what we’ve lost to Donald Trump, we have to make some big changes, and those changes need to include getting some new messages and new vision and new voices in the Democratic Party.”

Bronin added, “So much has changed over the last year. Almost everything has changed. We, as a Democratic Party, lost to Donald Trump, and we lost not just the presidency, but the Senate and the House of Representatives.”

Since Bronin jumped into the race, Larson has been crisscrossing the 27-town district and showing up at events where he had not been on the list of scheduled speakers. On Thursday, he hosted about 75 constituents at the East Hartford Senior Center to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Social Security — his signature issue as ranking member of the Social Security subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He answered multiple questions from the crowd in an event that lasted more than 90 minutes.

Some insiders thought that Larson might officially announce his campaign on the Social Security anniversary, but he said he would make an official announcement “probably some time in September.” He said he is respectful of all the mayors and first selectmen who are running in municipal elections this fall, and he said he would support them when he can.
Social Security
At the anniversary event, Larson’s team showed a video that contained various interviews about Social Security, both pro and con.

“Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time,” electric car entrepreneur Elon Musk said on a large projection screen at the senior center.

The video then showed Larson’s harsh words at a congressional hearing when Musk failed to appear in front of the committee to talk about various cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE. Since then, Musk has backed off from his short-term governmental role and is no longer in the spotlight that he held at the start of President Donald J. Trump’s administration.

In his remarks to the crowd, Larson said, “Happy anniversary. What a great day to celebrate. … This is the safety net for capitalism, entrepreneurism, and open markets. There’s got to be a safety net, and that’s Social Security.”

More than 73 million Americans rely on Social Security payments, including the elderly, widows, and the disabled.

For decades, Congress has not made any major changes to improve Social Security, including the years when Democrats controlled both chambers of Congress.

Out of the past 27 years, Democrats have had only four years where they controlled the White House and both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. Larson noted that two of those years were under President Barack Obama and two under President Joe Biden.

The problem, Larson said, is that Congress was highly distracted during those years and did not pass any reforms that would increase the longevity of Social Security or make the program stronger and financially solvent.

Under Obama, Congress was distracted with passing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

“From my standpoint, Social Security should have been taken up,” Larson said.

Under Biden, Congress was distracted with the coronavirus pandemic and the American Rescue Plan of 2021 that provided $1.9 trillion to help keep the economy afloat with increased unemployment benefits and grants after many restaurants, retail stores, and other businesses closed down during the peak of the pandemic.

In the ongoing battle against Bronin, Larson said that he had not heard any detailed proposals from his opponent.

When asked which issues he differs with Bronin the most, Larson responded, “Wait a second. Am I challenging him?”

Bronin said the issues are crucial.

“Every single Democrat in Congress,” Bronin said, “should be laser-focused on making life easier, healthier, and more affordable, and that means focusing intensely on issues like housing and health care and child care — and those are things that I don’t hear John talk a lot about. … I say this with deep respect for John Larson, but most of the time I hear him talking about the same things in the same way that he has been talking about for years and years.”

Access this article at its original source.