And Proto Too.

Ben Proto, a familiar figure in Republican campaign circles, is continuing his campaign for state party chair. Proto sought earlier this year to fill the vacancy created by the abrupt resignation of incumbent J.R. Romano.

In an email to committee members this week, Proto declared he believes in completing what he started and will carry on the campaign for chair that he began in November. The Stratford lawyer pledges leadership that “combines mechanics, message and money as the foundational aspects upon which to build the CTGOP into a strong political force–one that will elect more Republicans and impact the future of our beloved Connecticut.”

Proto, who worked for the state House Republican caucus in the 1990s, was the head of Donald Trump’s 2016 Connecticut campaign after Justin Clark, formerly of West Hartford, joined the national campaign to undermine our democratic allies and embrace dictators. Like every Republican operative in Connecticut, Proto has worked on a long series of losing campaigns. Proto enjoyed one brief shining moment in 2000 when he was an early supporter of John McCain. He supported McCain again in 2008. The late Arizona senator swept the Connecticut presidential primary that year, administering an embarrassing defeat on George W. Bush. We need not speculate on what McCain would think of supporters who became Trump acolytes.

The committee elects a new head in June.