Grow Connecticut Makes Late Entry in 32nd Senate Special Election.

It ought to be a lock, but the atmosphere is fraught for Republicans across the nation as voters realized what they elected to the White House in November. That means Eric Berthel may face some hurdles in his race to fill the vacancy in the 32nd Senate District created when Republicans made the egregious deadbeat dad Rob Kane a state auditor.

Voters go to the polls on Tuesday in a district that went for Trump last fall by hefty margins in almost all its 10 towns. Special elections are unpredictable. (On Thursday, the Tories won a British by-election for a House of Commons seat that had been held by Labour for more than 80 years.) If Democrats can convince their voters they will  be striking a blow against Trump by capturing one of the most Republican seats in the state, they will be in with a chance.

Republicans need to motivate their voters to get to the poll by convincing them the race is all about stopping Dannel P. Malloy’s plan to shift hundreds of millions of dollars in local education funding from towns like Waterford to Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport and Waterbury.

Enter Liz Kurantowicz’s Grow Connecticut. That’s the independent expenditure committee that was so successful in helping to elect Republicans to the legislature in November. That was the election in which Republicans tied Democrats in the state Senate at 18-18. Two months later, the same Republicans decided to risk their newfound influence by granting Kane’s wish for a full-time job.

Grow Connecticut is spending $11,011.50 on laser targeting mobile advertising in the district. Because you never know.

The buy is being paid for with a $15,000 contribution from the Republican State Leadership Committee, a national organization based in Washington, DC.