The Manny of the People campaign put a big one on the board in its first day. Middletown’s town treasurer, Quentin Phipps, endorsed Manny Sanchez in his bid for the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District.

Middletown is not in the district, so it sends no delegates to the nominating convention. Nevertheless, Dan Drew, the Democratic mayor of Middletown, is thinking about packing his carpetbag and entering the race. Phipps’ attendance at the Sanchez Monday afternoon announcement sent a message. Critical Middletown Democrats will not be supporting Drew.

Newtown and other 5th Congressional District Republicans have awoken to the prospect of nomination the beloved Pat Llodra as their candidate for the open seat. The former Newtown first selectman was in office in December 2012 when the shootings at Sandy Hook School tested her leadership abilities. She met each challenge, earning Connecticut’s gratitude and admiration.

Updates as events occur.

New Britain Alderman Manny Sanchez will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the 5th CD Monday at 1 p.m. The event will take place on the steps on the north side of the state Capitol building.

Sanchez is expected to be joined by New Britain’s legislative delegation and other Democrats.

He joins Simsbury Democrat Mary Glassman in the race. Others may soon join them.

He’s not Bill Curry. He’s not Dan Drew. He’s not Mary Glassman. New Britain Common Council Democrat Manny Sanchez possesses a compelling biography and the look of a consensus candidate in the bewildering 5th CD field. He exudes youthful energy, lives in the district, and has not spent his career grasping for government jobs that provide a hefty paycheck for little work.

‘Manny of the People” is expected to make a decision soon on entering the race. His wide network of bipartisan boosters would give him a fast start in fundraising. The candidate who taps into the Democrats’ growing ABM movement outside the Farmington Valley should reap a bountiful harvest of delegates disoriented after the Easter implosion of haughty incumbent Elizabeth Esty. She was forced to abandon her campaign for a fourth term after revelations of her mysterious neglect of allegations of harassment, bullying and violence in her Washington office exploded into public view.

Sanchez, 29, works in development at the University of Hartford and has coached a basketball team.

Boughton–36

Lumaj–22

Lauretti–15

Obsitnik–6

Handler–2

Stewart–2

Walker–2

Herbst–1

Kent Republicans held a fundraising straw poll Friday night. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton already had the town’s delegates. On Friday he won the straw poll.

Jonathan Harris will surrender Friday. The West Hartford Democrat will abandon his struggling campaign for governor and endorse Ned Lamont.

Today’s development is a public manifestation of broad movement among Democrats to the wealthy self-funder.

It’s a busy day in the Fifth Congressional District. Add early Donald Trump supporter Liz Peterson to the list of Republicans running for the seat abandoned by scandal-plagued Elizabeth Esty.

Peterson has resided in Connecticut since August. Before that, the Trinity College graduate and social media consultant lived in California for 20 years. She serves on Simsbury’s Republican town committee and is a member of the town’s tourism committee and technology task force.

When reached by phone Thursday, the Massachusetts native and mother of two was at the White House for a take your children to work day.

Why not? Southbury Republican Ruby O’Neill is looking for a spot at the Capitol to announce her bid for the Republican nomination in the the 5th Congressional District. Watch for a 4 p.m. launch with an introduction from William Petit.

Ruby O’Neill is married to veteran (30 years) Republican state Representative Arthur O’Neill.

Gasps making their way around the 5th Congressional District as Bill Curry makes calls to Democrats to test support for a bid for the suddenly open seat. Curry ran for the seat in 1982, a good year for many Democrats around the nation, when the seat was vacated by incumbent Toby Moffett. Wunderkind Moffett lost to U.S. Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., that year. Four years later Moffett challenged incumbent Democratic Governor Bill O’Neill. That race featured a remarkable delegate primary in Waterbury.

Moffett briefly worked as a local news anchor at WVIT. He would eventually settle into a lobbying career in Washington representing some unsavory clients.

Curry was elected comptroller in 1990 and lost a 1994 bid for governor against John G. Rowland. Curry was elbowed out of the race for a 1998 rematch by Barbara Kennelly. He was nominated to challenge Rowland in 2002 and was defeated by the Republican governor who would resign two years later and head for prison in 2005. Curry worked in the Clinton White House and was a columnist for the Hartford Courant.

It begins with Bob Stefanowski. The freshly minted Madison Republican is looking for petition circulators. Here’s a link. The job is harder than it sounds–that’s why he needs 200 circulators. Anyone who has collected Republican signatures for primary petitions will tell you that registered party members are thin on the ground. People often do not know how they are registered or are in error in believing they are enrolled in a party.

Self-funder Stefanowski is one of the candidates who will be seeking to collect about 10,000 Republican signatures (you need a buffer) to qualify for the August primary for governor. Expect others to follow, including Greenwich self-funder David Stemerman. Others who fall short of the 15% of the delegates on any ballot at the party’s May nominating convention required to qualify for the primary ballot will also need to collect signatures.