Leora Rosenberg Levy, 65, a Jewish-Cuban-American businesswoman, on Tuesday won a three-way race to become the GOP Senator from Connecticut with 50.06% of the votes in a primary that included 93,063 voters. She will run against incumbent Democrat Richard Blumenthal who ran unopposed.
Levy, for whom this was her first dip in politics, received the late endorsement of former-President Donald Trump and may represent a shift to the right in the nutmeg state’s Republican politics. In her victory speech, she thanked Trump and proclaimed: “We’re making history here. It’s really exciting,” adding, “I will not let you down. Thank you for having my back.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition PAC, which endorsed Levy, sent out an email from its Executive Director Matt Brooks that said: “Leora Levy’s victory in the Republican primary for US Senate in Connecticut is a victory for the American dream.”
Brooks went on to note that “Leora’s family escaped the Nazis in Europe, and she herself escaped Castro’s communists in Cuba to come to the United States in search of hope, freedom, and opportunity.” He continued: “Today, the American dream is under assault. Joe Biden, Richard Blumenthal, and the Democrats in Washington have driven inflation to record highs, dismantled America’s energy independence, and stood by as a violent crime wave sweeps our cities. Leora Levy is a strong conservative, proud Jewish-American, and a member of the RJC National Leadership Council who will always put the people of Connecticut first. It’s time for a change – it’s time to elect Leora Levy to the US Senate.”
In a February 6, 2019 tweet, Levy announced: “I call on my fellow Jews to acknowledge that President Trump is a friend and champion of the Jewish People and an unwavering advocate for a strong alliance between America and Israel. We are blessed to have him as our President! Yasher Koach Mr. President!”
I call on my fellow Jews to acknowledge that President Trump is a friend and champion of the Jewish People and an unwavering advocate for a strong alliance between America and Israel. We are blessed to have him as our President! Yasher Koach Mr. President!
— Leora Levy (@LeoraLevyCT) February 6, 2019
What are Levy’s chances to win? In 2020, Joe Biden won Connecticut by 20 points, with about 80% of the Jewish voters favoring the Democrats. The fact that the GOP preferred a more extreme right-winger to run against the three-term moderate Democrat Blumenthal does not bode well for Levy.
Blumenthal is also an AIPAC-quality senator. In March 2017, he co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act (S.270), which made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria to protest actions by the Israeli government.
In 2016, the year Trump stunned the Democrats by defeating Hillary Clinton for the presidency, Blumenthal won his senate seat for a third term with a 29-point lead.
Levy’s agenda will probably not bring her a sweeping Jewish vote, despite her strong commitment to Israel – they already have a senior Democrat doing that. She says she is a champion for the Pro-Life movement and will fight to protect the miracle of life, and has signed The Big Family Pledge solidifying her belief in the beginning of life from conception. It will probably not endear her to Connecticut Jews. She is also pro-gun, another wrong issue this election season in a state that just saw media personality Alex Jones being made to shell out close to $45 million for defaming the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school massacre in Newton, Connecticut.
Leora Levy deserves to win, she’s a hard worker and her heart is in the right place, but her state isn’t.
