Alpert pleas to run in the primaries

Hartford, Conn. (WTNH) - Despite his recent trouble it appears Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will be the Democratic party nominee for Senate when the party holds its convention this weekend, but Merrick Alpert is making one last ditch effort to hold a primary.

Click here to see the video introduction of Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

Alpert, a businessman from Mystic, has walked the length and width of the state for more than a year and his final lap will come Friday when he begs for a chance to be heard at the convention.

He is backing away from his threat to take the state Democratic Party to court for locking him out because he knows now that judges are reluctant to interfere with political party rules. But his confrontation on Wednesday night with State Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo is just the beginning of his attempt to get the party rules committee to allow him to address Friday night's convention.

"I think a primary absolutely is good for the process, good for the people of Connecticut," Alpert said.

Despite the fact that most of the Democratic Party establishment has lined up behind Blumenthal, Alpert says the events of the past few days show he is not ready to take office.

"If this election was going to be held on Tuesday, the general election, Democrats would lose," said Alpert. "I think we need to recognize that and we need to take a few months to prepare, talk about issues, that's exactly what I propose in a primary."

Alpert wants his chance to make that case in a speech to the convention delegates on Friday night. He'll make that pitch to the final meeting of the rules committee Friday afternoon, just hours before the convention is gaveled to order at 6:00 p.m.

"If we don't have a primary, we're going coronate somebody and send them into a general election when they're not ready for it," Alpert said.

Chairwoman DiNardo told News 8 that only nominees who win will be allowed to address the convention.