(WTNH) – Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Leora Levy in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Connecticut.
Levy is facing fellow Republicans, Themis Klarides and Peter Lumaj, in the Aug. 9 primary. Levy says Trump’s endorsement call came as a surprise and she’s humbled it happened at the Republican Town Committee Meeting in Montville on Thursday.
The moment was caught on camera.
VIDEO CREDIT: Melissa Zam
“I’m giving tonight, my complete and total endorsement to Leora Levy and she’s going to go out and she’s going to win the primary,” Trump said during the phone call.
“He said, ‘is this Leora?’ I said, ‘yes.’ He said, ‘this is Donald Trump,'” Levy said. “I am so honored and proud, and frankly, I’m in awe.”
“She’s got my complete and utter endorsement and I just want to thank everybody for being incredible patriots. Our country is doing horribly. A few years ago it was doing better than ever before,” Trump said during the call.
In Trump’s written endorsement of Levy, he slammed Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Levy’s opponent, Klarides, saying she’s weak on crime, weak on protecting military and veterans, and that she won’t protect the Second Amendment.
Klarides responded saying in part, “I am proud to be endorsed by those who know how to win in Connecticut: Mayors, First Selectmen, town councilors, state representatives, state senators, town committee chairs.”
Gary Rose is a governor professor at Sacred Heart University, and he calls Trump’s endorsement of Levy a “Hail Mary” of sorts.
“It really strengthens her chances again Themis Klarides. Is she going to win the primary as a result of this? That’s difficult to predict,” Rose said.
Fresh off Trump’s endorsement, Levy says she’s ready for Primay day.
“I look forward, I’ll get up there and we’ll do a big rally or something,” Trump said.
Rose said it’s going to be interesting to see if Trump’s endorsement increases voter turnout on Tuesday. He says that primaries are often indicators of the direction a political party is headed.
