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State Representative Tony Guerrera defeated rival House member Matthew Lesser in their contest for the Democratic nomination to succeed state Senator Paul Doyle. Guerrera won a decisive 41-18 victory over Lesser for the Democratic nomination in the 9th Senate District that includes Newington, Rocky Hill, Cromwell, and parts of Wethersfield and Middletown.

Endorsed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Ned Lamont will debate rival Joe Ganim, should he qualify for the primary ballot, on June 14th on WFSB. Ganim, according to his campaign press releases is gathering petition signatures at a notable pace. If he continues on his current daily rate, he should have enough signatures–2% of the state’s registered Democrats–by the beginning of June.

Ganim fell a couple of percentage points of the 15% of delegates he needed at Saturday’s nominating convention to qualify for the ballot without having to undertake the grinding process of gathering signatures, which must be submitted to local registrar by the close of business on June 12th.

August 14th is primary day.

State Representative Prasad Srinivasan (R-Glastonbury) has ended his bid for the Republican nomination for governor. Srinivasan got off to a notably fast fundraising start when he began his campaign in 2017. That momentum was never matched by support from delegates or other party activists. Srinivasan was eliminated from competition at the end of the first ballot of the Republican convention on May 12th when he failed to capture 8% of the delegate votes.

A rare live edition of Face the State this morning at 11 on WFSB. Host Dennis House is joined by convention-endorsed Ned Lamont and Susan Bysiewicz. Susan Bigelow and I provide commentary in the final segment.

Watch for Paul Doyle to reach he 15% he needs at Democratic convention with a crucial assist from state Representative Willam Tong (D-Stamford). If there’s a second ballot, Doyle votes will go to Tong, which may be enough to make him the endorsed candidate.

If only every union could be like the one between Britain’s Prince Harry and America’s Meghan Markle. They have the advantage of genuine affection and royal courtiers to make seamless adjustments in protocols. The Lamont-Bysiewicz political nuptials are not going so well. Delegate reactions have been muttering about the alliance since the news broke on Daily Ructions Monday. Lamont’s lead among delegates to this weekend’s Democratic nominating convention was sufficient, some said, to deny Bysiewicz the 15% support required to win a spot on the primary ballot. And in the money sweepstakes, Bysiewicz was still trying to reach $150,000 after more than a year of aggressive soliciting. Lamont, the Greenwich plutocrat, has the enduring advantage of a fortune accumulated through the ages. Nevertheless, Bysiewicz bluffed her way onto the ticket.

The aftermath of the Democratic union has seen some movement to Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim (who seems to be collecting signatures at a notable pace) and at least one challenge to Bysiewicz as lieutenant governor from Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, a union organizer from Newtown. Some party leaders and activists are unhappy that Lamont’s choice of Bysiewicz leaves no place for a minority at the top of the ticket. They’ve dubbed the duo the mayonnaise team. This much discontent could lead to considerable unhappiness at a convention that seemed to be turning into a happy occasion as the week began.

National Teacher of the Year Jahana Hayes has overcome far more than the likes of privileged Mary Glassman. The Simsbury Democrat’s campaign team may have connived successfully to work the switches in mysterious ways at Monday’s 5th CD nominating convention, but they cannot keep Hayes from forcing a primary. A robust response to Hayes’ most recent fundraising appeal may be attributed in part to resentment over the end-of-balloting switches that snatched the party endorsement from Hayes and moving it to Glassman.

The method of declaring and tallying the switches has caused considerable dismay among Hayes supporters who have attempted reconstruct the unusual sequence of events at the Waterbury convention. The tawdry nature of roll call switching that changes the outcome of a convention may turn out to be a burden for Glassman, who has been defeated in two races for lieutenant governor and one for governor.

It’s a lot easier when the Town of Trumbull is footing the bill. Litigious Republican Tim Herbst still has not raised sufficient funds to qualify for a generous public financing grant to fund his gubernatorial campaign. The law requires a candidate for governor raise $250,000 in contributions not exceeding $100 each. Veterans suggest a cushion above that amount to compensate for the inevitable contributions that are disqualified in the state election agency review.

Herbst has been raising money through exploratory and candidate committees for more than a year.

Democratic self-funder Guy Smith is close to an alliance with state Representative Charlie Stallworth (D-Bridgeport) to join Smith’s long shot bid for governor as his running mate. Stallworth is in his fourth term in the legislature. His life’s work has been as a minister.

A Stallworth candidacy at this weekend’s Democratic convention could add some complicated logistics. Smith will not qualify for the August primary ballot by winning 15% of the delegates on Saturday. Stallworth, however, could strike a chord with delegates eager to fulfill what they see as an implicit promise by likely nominee Ned Lamont to choose an African-American for lieutenant governor. Instead, Lamont chose Susan Bysiewicz for the sake of a quiet life.

The convention could become roiled over the selection of Bysiewicz, who may have bluffed her way onto the ticket from her sinking gubernatorial bid, and provide other hopefuls with the votes to force a primary.