KENT—Has the Democratic momentum at the national level affected local races? Perhaps. Kent’s Justin Potter, who is attempting to wrest the 30th District Senate seat from incumbent Republican Stephen Harding, reported this week that the race is now “a toss up,” based on data from the site the site CNalysis.
A Democrat hasn’t won the seat since 1978, but Potter noted “The district has shifted blue, especially since 2020. In 2020, Biden won the district by 4.8 percent, and in 2022, Senator Blumenthal won by 1.7 percent.”
Potter said the race is “very much about kitchen table issues” such as the cost of living, but also about values. “Trump is deeply unpopular in this district, not just among Democrats, but among unaffiliated voters, and many Republicans as well,” he asserted, adding that he considers modern Republican politics “to be a very different era” than when he grew up under the leadership of moderate Republicans such as U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson. She enjoyed widespread bipartisan support and represented the region for 24 years.
He reported the upsurge of optimism that engulfed a gathering when President Biden announced he would step aside. “Oh my God, I was standing on a stage with [U.S. Senator Dick] Blumenthal and [Lt. Gov. Susan] Bysiewicz when the news came in,” he said, adding that a wave of enthusiasm gripped listeners. “I think it has helped that it occurred so late. And the choice of Walz is brilliant.”
