With Connecticut’s primaries a week away, Republican candidate Mike Skelps in Middlefield hasn’t yet shaken hands with a single voter at a town fair or festival.
In New Britain, Democratic candidate Emmanuel Sanchez still hasn’t knocked on even one voter’s door.
And they’re not alone: The coronavirus pandemic has changed campaigning for every candidate on the Aug. 11 ballot. Social distancing — and general public anxiety — has ended the tradition of speaking at neighborhood campaign rallies or shaking hands with lines of people along parade routes.
“We literally had a strategy meeting to figure out the best way to reach people, and we never had to do that before,” said Sanchez, a veteran of municipal politics and the minority leader of New Britain’s common council.
“You have to focus much more on one-on-one talks. The idea of being able to address 100 people at a time — those opportunities are basically not there,” said Skelps, a finance board member in Middlefield.
Nearly 30 people in primaries are seeking either the Republican or Democratic nomination to run for state legislative seats; each one had to decide how to campaign during coronavirus restrictions.
Skelps opted to go ahead with door-to-door campaigning after considering whether it would make people uncomfortable. He concluded he would bring along a mask, but not wear it unless someone asked.
“I want them to see my face. I’m going to step back 8 or 10 feet before they answer, and it hasn’t been a problem at all,” Skelps said.
He has put extra effort into a Facebook campaign effort and lawn signs.
“Missing things like Fourth of July parades is big, that’s a lot of lost opportunities,” he said. “So I have to use another mix of opportunities to get to know people and get my name out there.”
In New Britain, Sanchez chose not to do much traditional door-knocking.
“To me, it makes a better interaction if people don’t have somebody at their door now. I’ve made thousands of phone calls and found them just as successful,” he said. “Some people asked that I go to their house, I’m going to do a little door knocking this weekend.”
Lawn signs, mailings and phone calls are the heart of Sanchez’s primary work, and he said he’ll be looking for creative ways to speak with groups if he advances to the November campaign.
“We could try asking a neighbor to invite 10 friends for a socially distant, safe talk on the lawn,” Sanchez said. “It’s just very different this year.”
Even though it’s a presidential preference primary, there’s no likelihood that the national ticket will deliver a big turnout Aug. 11.
Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign in the spring, leaving Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic nominee. On the Republican side, Donald Trump never stood a serious challenge and is fully on track to be nominated for another term. Still, Democrats and Republicans in Connecticut will be able to cast a primary vote for president as Sanders and U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard have left their names on the Democratic ballot here and California businessman Rocky De La Fuente has qualified to challenge Trump. Voters can also choose “uncommitted.”
Republicans have two primaries for congressional races, where the winners will take on two long-term Democratic incumbents. Mary Fay and Jim Griffin want to challenge long-term Rep. John Larson in the 1st Congressional District in Greater Hartford and Thomas Gilmer and Justin Anderson want to run against Rep. Joe Courtney in the 2nd District in eastern Connecticut.
Perhaps the most-watched races will be in state legislative districts; Democrats control the House and Senate, and both sides would like to gain ground in November.
Democrats will have primaries in the following districts:
17th Senate District; Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, parts of Hamden, Naugatuck and Woodbridge; Jorge Cabrera vs. Justin Farmer
22nd Senate District; Trumbull, parts of Bridgeport and Monroe; Marcus A. Brown vs. Sen. Marilyn Moore
5th House District; parts of Hartford and Windsor; Rep. Brandon McGee vs. Craig T. Stallings
15th House District; Bloomfield, part of Windsor; Rep. Bobby Gibson vs. Danielle DW Wong
20th House District; part of West Hartford; Sherry Haller vs. Kate Farrar
24th House District; parts of New Britain and Newington; Emmanuel “Manny” Sanchez vs. Richard Lacourciere
28th House District; part of Wethersfield; Paul Montinieri vs. Amy Morrin Bello
45th House District; Griswold, Sterling, Voluntown, parts of Lisbon and Plainfield; Mark DePonte vs. Pamela Patalano
126th House District; part of Bridgeport; Rep. Charlie Stallworth vs. Tony J. Barr
130th House District; part of Bridgeport; Rep. Antonio Felipe vs. Kelvin Ayala
Republicans will have legislative primaries in these districts:
26th Senate District; Redding, Ridgefield Wilton, parts of Bethel, New Canaan, Weston and Westport; Kim Healy vs. Will Duff
30th House District; parts of Berlin and Southington; Donna Veach vs. Jim Townsley
82nd House District; Middlefield and part of Meriden; Mike Skelps vs. Ernestine Holloway
128th House District; part of Bridgeport; Joseph J. Borges vs. Ethan Book
Don Stacom can be reached at dstacom@courant.com.
