Tick Tock: Bronin to Make Major Campaign Announcement at Hartford DTC Meeting.

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.