CAGV 2023 Candidate Grades & Endorsements
Vote for candidates who support common-sense gun laws.
A June 2022 Gallup poll of U.S. adults found that “the importance of gun policy…to vote choice is by far the highest on record and may now be even higher given the events that transpired after the poll was completed.”
To help voters, CAGV grades candidates running for the CT General Assembly. We also endorse candidates who will be leaders in passing measures to reduce gun violence in Connecticut and have already distinguished themselves as champions of gun violence prevention. Click here to learn more about how we graded candidates.
How to find your district’s candidates
If you’d like to see a candidate’s grade and endorsement status, enter their name in the search box above the table for either House or Senate candidates. Or click on any of the column headings to sort the list on that field. If you’re unsure of your legislative district, click here to use the Connecticut General Assembly legislator look-up tool.
Click here for information about voting absentee or in person, and to check to see if you’re registered to vote where you now live. If you’re not yet registered to vote, click here to do so immediately. Your vote is critical to ensuring we have legislators who will support and protect strong gun laws.
Help us get out the vote to elect candidates strong on gun violence prevention by signing up for the Pen Power Project.
Statewide Constitutional Offices
| First Name | Last Name | Office | Party | Endorsed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ned | Lamont | Governor | Democrat |  |
| Susan | Bysiewicz | Lt. Governor | Democrat | |
| William | Tong | Attorney General | Democrat | |
| Stephanie | Thomas | Secretary of the State | Democrat | |
| Erick | Russell | Treasurer | Democrat | |
| Sean | Scanlon | Comptroller | Democrat | |
State House of Representatives
| First Name | Last Name | District | Party | 2022 Grade | Endorsed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew | Ritter | 1 | Democrat | A | |
| Raghib | Allie-Brennan | 2 | Democrat | A | |
| Minnie | Gonzalez | 3 | Democrat | A | |
| Julio | Concepcion | 4 | Democrat | A | |
| Maryam | Khan | 5 | Democrat | A | |
| Edwin | Vargas | 6 | Democrat | A | |
| Joshua | Hall | 7 | Democrat | A | |
| Mary Ann | Hansen | 8 | Democrat | B | |
| Tim | Ackert | 8 | Republican | F | |
| Jason | Rojas | 9 | Democrat | A | |
| Henry | Genga | 10 | Democrat | A | |
| Jeffrey | Currey | 11 | Democrat | A | |
| Geoff | Luxenberg | 12 | Democrat | A | |
| Jason | Doucette | 13 | Democrat | A | |
| Erica | Evans | 14 | Democrat | A | |
| Tom | Delnicki | 14 | Republican | C | |
| Bobby | Gibson | 15 | Democrat | A | |
| Melissa | Osborne | 16 | Democrat | A | |
| Eleni | Kavros DeGraw | 17 | Democrat | A | |
| Jillian | Gilchrest | 18 | Democrat | A | |
| Tammy | Exum | 19 | Democrat | A | |
| Kate | Farrar | 20 | Democrat | A | |
| Mike | Demicco | 21 | Democrat | A | |
| Rebecca | Martinez | 22 | Democrat | A | |
| J. Colin | Heffernan | 23 | Democrat | A | |
| Devin | Carney | 23 | Republican | B | |
| Manny | Sanchez | 24 | Democrat | A | |
| Bobby | Sanchez | 25 | Democrat | A | |
| Peter | Tercyak | 26 | Democrat | A | |
| Gary | Turco | 27 | Democrat | A | |
| Amy | Morrin Bello | 28 | Democrat | A | |
| Kerry | Wood | 29 | Democrat | C | |
| Denise | McNair | 30 | Democrat | A | |
| Donna | Veach | 30 | Republican | F | |
| Jill | Barry | 31 | Democrat | B | |
| Rose | Aletta | 32 | Democrat | A | |
| Christie | Carpino | 32 | Republican | C | |
| Brandon | Chafee | 33 | Democrat | A | |
| Irene | Haines | 34 | Republican | F | |
| Christine | Goupil | 35 | Democrat | B | |
| Christine | Palm | 36 | Democrat | A | |
| Nick | Menapace | 37 | Democrat | A | |
| Holly | Cheeseman | 37 | Republican | B | |
| Nicholas | Gauthier | 38 | Democrat | A | |
| Kathleen | McCarty | 38 | Republican | A | |
| Anthony | Nolan | 39 | Democrat | A | |
| Christine | Conley | 40 | Democrat | A | |
| Aundre | Bumgardner | 41 | Democrat | A | |
| Keith | Denning | 42 | Democrat | A | |
| Greg | Howard | 43 | Republican | F | |
| Dave | Randall | 44 | Democrat | A | |
| Anne | Dauphinais | 44 | Republican | F | |
| Brian | Lanoue | 45 | Republican | F | |
| Derrel | Wilson | 46 | Democrat | A | |
| Robert | Bell | 46 | Republican | D | |
| Dave | Nowakowski | 47 | Democrat | A | |
| Doug | Dubitsky | 47 | Republican | F | |
| Susan | Johnson | 49 | Democrat | A | |
| Pat | Boyd | 50 | Democrat | F | |
| Ricky | Hayes | 51 | Republican | F | |
| Gregg | Dafoe | 52 | Democrat | B | |
| Kurt | Vail | 52 | Republican | F | |
| Kenneth | Trice | 53 | Democrat | C | |
| Tammy | Nuccio | 53 | Republican | F | |
| Gregory | Haddad | 54 | Democrat | A | |
| Kevin | Brown | 56 | Democrat | A | |
| Jamie | Foster | 57 | Democrat | A | |
| Tom | Arnone | 58 | Democrat | A | |
| Matt | Despard | 59 | Democrat | A | |
| Carol | Hall | 59 | Republican | D | |
| Jane | Garibay | 60 | Democrat | A | |
| Jim | Irwin | 61 | Democrat | A | |
| Tami | Zawistowski | 61 | Republican | F | |
| Mark | Anderson | 62 | Republican | F | |
| Jay | Case | 63 | Republican | F | |
| Maria | Horn | 64 | Democrat | A | |
| Michelle | Cook | 65 | Democrat | A | |
| Matt | Dyer | 66 | Democrat | B | |
| Alexandra | Thomas | 67 | Democrat | A | |
| William | Buckbee | 67 | Republican | C | |
| Joe | Polletta | 68 | Republican | F | |
| Cindy | Harrison | 69 | Republican | F | |
| Jeff | Litke | 70 | Democrat | B | |
| Larry | Butler | 72 | Democrat | A | |
| Vernon | Matthews | 72 | Republican | B | |
| Ronald | Napoli | 73 | Democrat | A | |
| Michael | DiGiovancarlo | 74 | Democrat | F | |
| Geraldo | Reyes | 75 | Democrat | A | |
| Sharon | Farmer | 76 | Democrat | B | |
| John | Piscopo | 76 | Republican | F | |
| Andrew | Rasmussen-Tuller | 77 | Democrat | A | |
| Cara | Pavalock-D'Amato | 77 | Republican | F | |
| Mary | Fortier | 79 | Democrat | A | |
| Gale | Mastrofrancesco | 80 | Republican | F | |
| Michael | Quinn | 82 | Democrat | B | |
| Jonathan | Fazzino | 83 | Democrat | A | |
| Hilda | Santiago | 84 | Democrat | A | |
| Mary | Mushinsky | 85 | Democrat | A | |
| Vincent | Candelora | 86 | Republican | F | |
| Dave | Yaccarino Sr. | 87 | Republican | C | |
| Joshua | Elliott | 88 | Democrat | A | |
| Lezlye | Zupkus | 89 | Republican | F | |
| Rebecca | Hyland | 90 | Democrat | A | |
| Craig | Fishbein | 90 | Republican | F | |
| Michael | D'Agostino | 91 | Democrat | A | |
| Patricia | Dillon | 92 | Democrat | A | |
| Toni | Walker | 93 | Democrat | A | |
| Robyn | Porter | 94 | Democrat | A | |
| Juan | Candelaria | 95 | Democrat | B | |
| Roland | Lemar | 96 | Democrat | A | |
| Eric | Mastroianni | 96 | Republican | F | |
| Alphonse | Paolillo | 97 | Democrat | A | |
| Moira | Rader | 98 | Democrat | A | |
| Joseph | Zullo | 99 | Republican | F | |
| Quentin | Williams | 100 | Democrat | A | |
| Anthony | Moran | 100 | Republican | D | |
| John-Micheal | Parker | 101 | Democrat | A | |
| John | Rasimas | 101 | Republican | C | |
| Robin | Comey | 102 | Democrat | A | |
| Liz | Linehan | 103 | Democrat | A | |
| Kara | Rochelle | 104 | Democrat | B | |
| Nicole | Klarides-Ditria | 105 | Republican | F | |
| Mitch | Bolinsky | 106 | Republican | B | |
| Phoebe | Holmes | 107 | Democrat | A | |
| Jeff | Ginsburg | 108 | Democrat | A | |
| Pat | Callahan | 108 | Republican | F | |
| Farley | Santos | 109 | Democrat | A | |
| Bob | Godfrey | 110 | Democrat | A | |
| Aimee | Berger-Girvalo | 111 | Democrat | A | |
| Tony | Scott | 112 | Republican | F | |
| Jason | Perillo | 113 | Republican | F | |
| Mary | Welander | 114 | Democrat | A | |
| Dorinda | Borer | 115 | Democrat | A | |
| Aaaron | Haley | 116 | Republican | D | |
| Laura | Fucci | 117 | Working Families | A | |
| Charles | Ferraro | 117 | Republican | D | |
| Frank | Smith | 118 | Democrat | A | |
| Mike | Smith | 119 | Democrat | A | |
| Kathy | Kennedy | 119 | Republican | C | |
| Philip | Young | 120 | Democrat | A | |
| Laura | Dancho | 120 | Republican | C | |
| Joe | Gresko | 121 | Democrat | A | |
| Ben | McGorty | 122 | Republican | F | |
| Sujata | Gadkar-Wilcox | 123 | Democrat | A | |
| David | Rutigliano | 123 | Republican | C | |
| Andre | Baker | 124 | Democrat | B | |
| Victor | Alvarez | 125 | Democrat | A | |
| Tom | O'Dea | 125 | Republican | B | |
| Christopher | Rosario | 128 | Democrat | A | |
| Steven | Stafstrom | 129 | Democrat | A | |
| Antonio | Felipe | 130 | Democrat | A | |
| David | Labriola | 131 | Republican | D | |
| Jennifer | Leeper | 132 | Democrat | A | |
| Brian | Farnen | 132 | Republican | B | |
| Cristin | McCarthy Vahey | 133 | Democrat | A | |
| Sarah | Keitt | 134 | Democrat | A | |
| Anne | Hughes | 135 | Democrat | A | |
| Jonathan | Steinberg | 136 | Democrat | A | |
| Kadeem | Roberts | 137 | Democrat | A | |
| Kenneth | Gucker | 138 | Democrat | A | |
| Kevin | Ryan | 139 | Democrat | B | |
| Travis | Simms | 140 | Democrat | A | |
| Lucy | Dathan | 142 | Democrat | A | |
| Donald | Mastronardi | 142 | Republican | D | |
| Dominique | Johnson | 143 | Democrat | A | |
| Hubert | Delany | 144 | Democrat | A | |
| Corey | Paris | 145 | Democrat | A | |
| David | Michel | 146 | Democrat | A | |
| Thomas | Concannon | 146 | Unaffiliated | B | |
| Matt | Blumenthal | 147 | Democrat | A | |
| Dan | Fox | 148 | Democrat | A | |
| Rachel | Khanna | 149 | Democrat | A | |
| Kimberly | Fiorello | 149 | Republican | F | |
| Steve | Meskers | 150 | Democrat | A | |
| Hector | Arzeno | 151 | Democrat | A | |
State Senate
| First Name | Last Name | District | Party | 2022 Grade | Endorsed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John | Fonfara | 1 | Democrat | A | |
| Michael | Oretade | 1 | Green Party | A | |
| Doug | McCrory | 2 | Democrat | A | |
| Saud | Anwar | 3 | Democrat | A | |
| MD | Rahman | 4 | Democrat | A | |
| Derek | Slap | 5 | Democrat | A | |
| Rick | Lopes | 6 | Democrat | A | |
| Cynthia | Mangini | 7 | Democrat | A | |
| John | Kissel | 7 | Republican | F | |
| Matt | Lesser | 9 | Democrat | A | |
| Gary | Winfield | 10 | Democrat | A | |
| Martin | Looney | 11 | Democrat | A | |
| Christine | Cohen | 12 | Democrat | A | |
| Jan | Hochadel | 13 | Democrat | A | |
| Joseph | Vollano | 13 | Republican | D | |
| James | Maroney | 14 | Democrat | A | |
| Joan | Hartley | 15 | Democrat | A | |
| Christopher | Robertson | 16 | Democrat | D | |
| Rob | Sampson | 16 | Republican | F | |
| Jorge | Cabrera | 17 | Democrat | A | |
| Heather | Somers | 18 | Republican | C | |
| Cathy | Osten | 19 | Democrat | C | |
| Kevin | Kelly | 21 | Republican | C | |
| Marilyn | Moore | 22 | Democrat | A | |
| Herron | Gaston | 23 | Democrat | A | |
| Juliemar | Ortiz | 23 | Democrat | A | |
| Julie | Kushner | 24 | Democrat | A | |
| Bob | Duff | 25 | Democrat | A | |
| Ceci | Maher | 26 | Democrat | A | |
| Toni | Boucher | 26 | Republican | B | |
| Patricia | Miller | 27 | Democrat | A | |
| Michael | Battinelli | 27 | Republican | C | |
| Tim | Gavin | 28 | Democrat | A | |
| Tony | Hwang | 28 | Republican | B | |
| Mae | Flexer | 29 | Democrat | A | |
| Eva | Zimmerman | 30 | Democrat | A | |
| Stephen | Harding | 30 | Republican | B | |
| Greg | Hahn | 31 | Democrat | A | |
| Henri | Martin | 31 | Republican | F | |
| Jeff | Desmarais | 32 | Democrat | A | |
| Eric | Berthel | 32 | Republican | F | |
| Norm | Needleman | 33 | Democrat | B | |
| David | Bedell | 34 | Green Party | A | |
| Paul | Cicarella | 34 | Republican | F | |
| Trevor | Crow | 36 | Democrat | A | |
How We Graded the Candidates
CAGV grades and endorsements were determined using responses to the CAGV Candidate Questionnaire sent to all candidates and, if the candidate is an incumbent, an assessment of their legislative record. Also considered are one-on-one interviews with CAGV, public statements, testimony and floor speeches, and appearances at public events.
Candidates who did not return the survey and have no public record that reveals where they stand on gun violence prevention were not graded and therefore not listed. However, declining to participate (after multiple requests) may be indicative of where a candidate stands on measures to keep Connecticut safe from gun violence.