Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, defeated Representative John Larson in the Democratic primary in Connecticut’s First Congressional District, capitalizing on calls for generational change in the party.
The victory by Mr. Bronin, a former Navy intelligence officer, unseated a 28-year incumbent and followed a series of victories by younger challengers in congressional contests in New York and Denver.
Mr. Bronin, 47, centered his campaign around a call for generational change, arguing that Mr. Larson, 78, was not prepared to confront the challenges posed by the Trump administration’s efforts to aggressively push a conservative agenda through Washington.
“Donald Trump won re-election for a second time, and then we saw a Democratic Party struggle to bring enough energy and clarity to that fight in this moment,” Mr. Bronin said at a debate in Hartford last month. “We would be a stronger Democratic Party if more of our leadership recognized that part of leadership is knowing when it’s time to pass the torch.”
The race marked the first time Mr. Larson, who attracted attention after suffering a complex partial seizure on the House floor last year, faced a serious primary challenge for his seat.
Mr. Larson marshaled much of the party establishment behind his bid, winning endorsements from the state’s entire congressional delegation. Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat and minority leader, held a rally and fund-raiser in the district to benefit Mr. Larson early in the contest.
But he was outraised by Mr. Bronin, who won the state party’s Democratic endorsement and pushed Mr. Larson to the bottom of the ballot in their four-way primary.
Unlike in other races where younger politicians have defeated longtime incumbents, the Connecticut contest did not turn on ideological grounds.
A longtime progressive, Mr. Larson focused on his position as the top Democrat on the House Social Security Subcommittee, saying Connecticut voters would lose power in Congress if they replaced him.
“At a time in this crisis that we’re in, with this unstable president who does not believe or follow the Constitution, with proven leadership that delivers, who’s going be in a position on a major committee, we want to give that up so that we can have someone start at the bottom?” Mr. Larson said in an interview during a campaign stop at a senior center in Hartford last week. “The Connecticut voters are a lot smarter than that.”
But Mr. Bronin questioned how effective Mr. Larson had been in that post, attacking him for failing to advance his signature piece of Social Security legislation for more than a decade, including when Democrats controlled Congress
Mr. Bronin will face Dr. Amy Chai, a physician and mental health advocate, in the general election.