It’s official. Speaker of the House Chris Donovan is running for the U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy’s seat in the 5th Congressional District.
Donovan, who opted for a “soft” announcement by passing out stickers at the Jefferson Jackson Bailey dinner last Monday, filed his paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission on Friday.
Donovan is the latecomer to an already crowded field of Democratic candidates, including former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty of Cheshire, Michael Williams of New Preston, and Dan Roberti of Kent.
Last week Roberti came out swinging with an endorsement from the Communication Workers of America Local 1298, but news of the endorsement didn’t faze Donovan.
“You’d think they would sit down and talk to all the candidates before making a decision to endorse,” Donovan said last week.
“Dan Roberti understands our issues, and the issue facing working families,“ said Bill Henderson, President of CWA Local 1298. “He recognizes how working families are being squeezed in this economic downturn, and the challenges they face at the gas pump, at the grocery story, and in every part of their lives.”
“It is outside of our normal operations to endorse this early in a primary election, but our Executive Board felt that Dan Roberti has an exceptional understanding of our issues,” said Henderson.
Donovan, who is still working on his legislative business, said there will be plenty of time to talk about the Congressional campaign this summer.
Rep. Peter Tercyak, D-New Britain, gave Donovan props for rolling out the campaign as softly as he did last week. At the JJB, Tercyak said he could have used his position as Speaker to call a press conference to make the announcement, but instead chose to be “different.”
Donovan was considered a top contender for the seat when Murphy announced he was entering the U.S. Senate race this past January.
