This story has been updated. Facing a primary challenge from the right, moderate Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, informed the Senate Republican caucus Monday night he will not seek a seventh term in the 28th District of Bethel, Easton, Fairfield and Newtown. Hwang’s decision leaves open two R epublican seats in Fairfield County districts that will be a challenge for the GOP to hold, providing an opportunity for Democrats, who hold a 25-11 majority, to shrink the minority to single digits for the first time since the post-Watergate election of 1974. President Donald Trump’s domination of Republican politics has coincided with the collapse of the GOP as a competitor for control of the Connecticut General Assembly, beginning with the midterm election of 2018. In January 2017, Republicans began Trump’s first term in the White House with an 18-18 tie in the Connecticut Senate and only four seats shy of a majority in the 151-member Connecticut House.  Successive elections have been disastrous. Early polling indicates that Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, his trade wars and more recently his actual war on Iran make for a difficult midterm election for the GOP. “The current climate makes it very difficult for a moderate, common-sense Connecticut Republican to either get through a primary or win in a general election,” said Brenda Kupchick, the former first selectwoman of Fairfield. Kupchick, a Republican who also served in the House when Republicans rebounded from steep losses during Barack Obama’s win in 2008, said she will not seek the GOP nomination.  Amybeth Laroche of Newtown, a conservative Board of Finance member, is the only declared Republican candidate in a district generally dominated by its largest community, Fairfield. She could not be reached. Laroche, a guest in the House chamber during Gov. Ned Lamont’s State of the State address on the opening day of the 2026 session in February, joined a handful of Republican lawmakers in walking out in protest of the governor’s criticism of federal immigrant agents’ training and tactics. “I will not  stay  silent while those who serve and protect our communities are disrespected,” she wrote on Instagram. Rob Blanchard of Fairfield, the Democrat who lost to Hwang two years ago, said Tuesday he intends to open a campaign for the Democratic nomination this week. He is planning to resign as communications director for Gov. Ned Lamont and join the governor’s reelection campaign. Dan Rock, a member of the Fairfield Board of Finance, also is seeking the Democratic nomination. The other open Republican seat in Fairfield County is the 36th Senate seat of Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford that Democrats flipped in 2018. Sen. Ryan  Fazio, R-Greenwich, recaptured it in a special election five years ago, but he is running for governor, not reelection. The best Republican chances for maintaining their numbers in the Senate may lie outside Fairfield County, the source of the greatest wealth in Connecticut and formerly the GOP’s most reliable base. Republicans are expected to focus on flipping seats narrowly won two years ago in the northeast corner by Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, a six-term senator, and in the Farmington Valley by a freshman, Sen. Paul Honig, D-Harwinton.   Flexer faces a rematch in the 29th Senate District with Republican Chris Reddy of Scotland. She beat narrowly beat him two years ago, 49.8% to 48.4%, with a minor-party candidate also on the ballot.  The district includes Mansfield, the home of the University of Connecticut and the source of young voters who have used same-day voter registration to Flexer’s advantage, as well as smaller rural communities that lean Republican. Honig unseated Republican Lisa Seminara of Avon two years ago with 50.2% of the vote in the 8th Senate District, an 11-town district dominated by Avon, Canton and Simsbury. Harwinton First Selectman Michael Criss is seeking the Republican nomination. Andrew Ziemba of Canton, who had filed for the race, withdrew Friday and has endorsed Criss. Two Democrats also are not seeking reelection: Sen. Jan Hochadel of Meriden and Sen. Ceci Maher of Wilton. Their districts favor Democrats. Sens. Tony Hwang, Pat Billie Miller, and Ceci Maher during session on June 4, 2025. Credit: Shahrzad Rasekh / CT Mirror Hwang did not return a call for comment Tuesday, but Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, confirmed that Hwang informed the caucus of his decision not to run. He was elected to the House in 2008 and to the Senate in 2014. Ubiquitous at public events in his district, Hwang had prevailed as the country trended Democratic. But he had gathered enemies in the GOP over his supposed deliberate distance from others in the party.  Amid a special election for first selectman of Fairfield that Hwang lost this year, Tim Herbst, the former Republican first selectman of Trumbull and a candidate for governor in 2018, wrote an opinion piece deeming Hwang too self-centered to be fit for running a town. “Tony Hwang does not financially support other Republican candidates, nor does he meaningfully assist those on his own team,” Herbst wrote. “He treats public office like a personal branding exercise, routinely appearing at public events wearing clothing emblazoned with his own name, as if he were promoting a personal clothing line. It may seem like a small thing, but it perfectly captures a larger problem: for him, it is always about the spotlight.” Hwang was the only Senate Republican to vote in February for emergency legislation, Senate Bill 298, that spend through the General Assembly without vetting by committees or at public hearings. Other Republicans complained it was an abuse of process by  the Democrats. In 2016, Hwang campaigned for John Kasich and against Trump in the Republican presidential primary in Connecticut. He frequently broke with other Republicans on climate and environmental issues. He joined Lamont at a press conference in 2023 celebrating the publication of proposed regulations ensuring Connecticut would continue to meet evolving California standards for passenger-car emissions, a commitment made 20 years ago during the administration of a Republican governor, John G. Rowland. “Clean air is critical, and it’s a non-partisan issue,” Hwang said then. That assertion was suspect. While other measures have generated broader support, Hwang was the only Republican legislator to vote in 2022 for passage of the Connecticut Clean Air Act. ...read more read less