Republicans to pick Senate candidate to challenge Sen. Blumenthal on Tuesday's primary

Connecticut Republicans pick their candidate for U.S. Senate in a primary election Tuesday that could signal where the state party is headed politically after years of backing moderates.

The Senate race pits former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a social moderate who supports abortion rights and gun control measures, against two conservatives: attorney Peter Lumaj and Leora Levy, a GOP fundraiser and former commodities trader who received an endorsement last week from former President Donald Trump.

Levy, a first-time candidate who loaned her campaign more than $1 million, touted her backing from Trump as proof she is a “true America-first patriot.” She and Lumaj, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 2018, each have argued that only a conservative can beat the incumbent Democrat, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, in the November election.

“President Trump’s endorsement proves to voters that all states are in the running to flip red," Levy said in a written statement after Trump announced his support over the phone during a GOP event in Montville on Thursday.

Connecticut hasn't elected a Republican to the U.S. Senate since Lowell P. Weicker Jr., who served from 1971 to 1989.