Information About Connecticut's 1st Congressional District Primary Election on August 11, 2026
Why is Luke Bronin running for Congress?
Luke Bronin is running for Congress because our country is in crisis: billionaires are receiving tax breaks while Connecticut families struggle with the cost of housing, healthcare, groceries, and childcare. A father of three school-aged children, Luke believes the country needs a new direction for the Democratic Party beyond opposition to Trump and the MAGA movement. He’s running to bring new energy, ideas, and perspective to Congress and build a political movement that gets things done for working families.
What is Luke Bronin’s background and experience?
Luke Bronin served as Mayor of Hartford from 2016 to 2024. As Mayor, Luke led the effort to save Hartford from bankruptcy and stabilize its finances. He brought in record investment in housing that produced thousands of affordable units, created the nationally recognized Hartford Youth Service Corps, and led the city through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Before becoming mayor, Luke served as General Counsel to Governor Dannel Malloy, where he helped enact gun safety laws, supported green energy, and prioritized ending chronic homelessness among veterans.
Luke is a Rhodes Scholar and a U.S. Navy veteran from the anti-corruption task force in Afghanistan. He later served as a senior official in President Obama’s Treasury Department where he helped create the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and later served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes.
What are Luke Bronin’s top policy priorities?
Luke Bronin’s top policy priorities are:
Bringing down costs for housing, healthcare, electricity, groceries, childcare, and eldercare
Creating a fairer tax code and fighting corruption
Abolishing ICE and reforming immigration enforcement
Protecting Medicare and Medicaid while pushing for universal, affordable healthcare
Protecting reproductive freedom
What is Luke Bronin’s position on healthcare?
Luke Bronin believes the U.S. healthcare system needs major structural change. He supports protecting and strengthening Medicare and Medicate, negotiating down the price of prescription drugs, and creating a universal and affordable option so every American has access to care. Luke supports passing the Break Up Big Medicine Act to break up healthcare monopolies, and he will fight to make healthcare more affordable and accessible to all.
Where does Luke Bronin stand on taxes?
Luke Bronin supports a tax code that is progressive, fair, simple, and enforced. Luke’s tax plan would close loopholes that benefit the wealthy at the expense of working Americans and ensure the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations pay their fair share. This includes rolling back the Trump administration's tax cuts for high-income earners and adding two new top income tax brackets.
Is Luke Bronin a progressive or moderate Democrat?
Luke is a policy and results-driven Democrat, working to build new energy and momentum within the Democratic Party. From making billionaires pay their share and breaking up healthcare monopolies to codifying Roe v. Wade and banning assault weapons, Luke will fight for everyday Americans so we have an economy and government that works for all. Luke will never accept corporate PAC contributions and has taken the End Citizens United “Unrig Washington” Pledge.
What makes Luke Bronin different from other candidates?
Luke Bronin’s campaign is about developing a clear, affirmative agenda and electing new members of Congress willing to build the political movement to deliver it. Luke is the only candidate to have run a city government. As Mayor of Hartford, Luke led the city from the brink of bankruptcy and through the COVID-19 pandemic while balancing the budget and overseeing public safety. Luke also brings national security and anti-corruption experience from his time in Afghanistan and the Obama Treasury Department. That combination of running a major city’s government and budget as well as confronting corruption at the federal level gives Luke a clear understanding of how the government delivers (or fails to deliver) for people, and how to fight the ongoing abuse of money and power.
Why should I vote for Luke Bronin?
Luke Bronin is running on a message of new energy and a new generation of leadership for the Democratic Party. Luke offers a rare combination of Connecticut and federal government experience from his time as Mayor of Hartford and service in the Obama Treasury, spending his career working on the issues he’ll take on in Congress. Luke will fight for affordability and a fair tax code to support working Americans, while combatting the corruption and the all-out assault on our Constitution.