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Volatile former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst has conducted a survey of Republican state convention delegates. He’s only sharing the results with some people. Shhh, his survey found he’s first.

Herbst claims he’s the choice of 31% of 101% (these Connecticut politicians and their math) of the delegates. No word on what percentage of delegates were called and what percentage expressed a preference. Daily Ructions understands delegates who didn’t respond received a calm pro-Herbst call from someone other than the excitable candidate.

State Representative Mike D’Agostino has abandoned his bid for the Democratic nomination for attorney general. The corporate lawyer and Hamden Democrat announced Friday that he will not seek statewide office days after a rough night among New Haven Democrats. He will seek re-election to the House.

Alarming news for the working people of Connecticut. The state lost 2,000 jobs in March, according to Department of Labor statistics. Despite a robust national economy, Connecticut’s economy continues to struggle with steady job creation.

The bad news will dog candidates for governor as most struggle to produce a credible plan for the way forward.

It will not be forgotten soon. Senate Democrats engaged in an emotional airing of grievances on Wednesday. It began with remarks on state Senator John Fonfara’s recent strange remarks suggesting he is burdened by being a white man. Colleagues offered their opinions of the controversy in a frank exchange of views. Rage, anger and the Holocaust were among the themes in the wrenching meeting. One member is said to have mentioned that there was a time when Italian young men were not allowed into certain dance halls.

Caucus leaders came in for criticism, with Senator Bob Duff becoming a shiny target.

It may prove a seminal moment for a caucus that has struggled to adjust to the even bipartisan split in upper chamber since the 2016 elections.

Intra-caucus feats of strength may follow later this year.

Lobbyists were startled and uneasy this week when a fundraising appeal arrived by email from state Senator Bob Duff, the upper chamber’s number two Democrat. The Norwalk Democrat was seeks contributions to his re-election campaign. The inclusion of lobbyists in the solicitation violates a longstanding statute that prohibits legislators from soliciting lobbyists during the legislative session.

Duff says he corrected his error when he discovered it. Nevertheless, an explanation to the State Elections Enforcement Commission may be in order.

Connecticut’s troubles must be are worsening. No better proof than a fundraising email from wealthy Greenwich scion Ned Lamont. The self-funder needs $5. He made the appeal in a message announcing “an emergency fundraising drive.”

Lamont poured millions from his family fortune into his 2006 U.S. Senate campaign against incumbent Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman. In that campaign, Lamont’s spokesperson would disguise his cash transfers as “amplifying” the few donations he received from supporters. Lamont reached into his deep pockets in 2010 in a race for the Democratic nomination for governor, losing the August primary to Dannel P. Malloy by 15 points.

The Lamont family exchequer can’t be empty. He hasn’t been paying hefty dues to the all-white Greenwich country club he belonged to until just before he launched his bid against Lieberman.

It has not been going as they expected. Endorsements have been thin on the ground and money has not flowed like it once did. Expect Luke Bronin to appear before his home Democratic town committee (Hartford, not Greenwich) to renew his rickety commitment to the city and announce he will not be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor.

Bronin has been exploring the race and found it heavy-going. One of the toughest blows came when Attorney General George Jepsen announced on March 26th that he will support Ned Lamont for governor. That began a quiet move among party leaders toward the wealthy Greenwich Democrat, the emerging alternative to Susan Bysiewicz.

The first term Hartford mayor wins dull marks for staying late at party meetings and socializing with activists, but it has not been a winning strategy. In a crowded field, one can’t win by relying on text messages to arrange for post-meeting drinks to snag delegate commitments.

This has been a tough year for Democratic mayors. Middletown’s Dan Drew was the first in and first out of the contest for governor.

Good thing he switched races. Republican Mark Greenberg raised just $34,576 in his bid for his party’s nomination for comptroller. In the recently concluded 1st quarter of the year, Greenberg raised a puny $7,340.

Greenberg is expected to make a fourth run for the Republican nomination in the state’s 5th CD. Party leaders are looking for an alternative and have hopes invested in William Petit.

Poor Jonathan Harris. He suggested long ago that his fundraising was going great. Today, the Democratic operative whose 2014 campaign emails cost state Democrats more than $300,000 to keep secret is still nagging potential donors for contributions. Harris wants to celebrate National Equal Pay Day by giving money to a man–him.

First term state Senator Eric Berthel (R-Watertown) not seek the Republican nomination in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District. Berthel was an early party favorite for the nomination in the aftermath of Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Esty’s implosion over her failure to protect female staff members from harassment and alleged violence in the office.

Berthel will seek a full term in November.