Connecticut Republicans pick longtime operative Ben Proto as the party’s new chairman

Connecticut Republicans have elected longtime political operative Ben Proto as the party’s new chairman.

Proto, a 62-year-old attorney from Stratford, is a veteran of many GOP campaigns on the state and federal level. He has ties to both former President Donald Trump and John McCain, the former senator from Arizona who represents a more moderate GOP brand.

“I’m overwhelmed by the support,” Proto said Tuesday night, after the party’s state central committee met at a New Haven restaurant to vote for a new chair. “I’m really looking forward to working with the committee and coming in and getting my arms around the organization’s structure and systems.”

Proto handily beat Gary Byron, a two-term state representative from Newington who now hosts a morning talk show on WDRC-AM radio, and Jim Campbell, the former Republican Town Committee chairman in Greenwich.

A fourth candidate, Jennifer Cusato, also entered the race, but was deemed ineligible under the rules because she currently lives in Florida. Cusato said she would move to Vernon if she won.

“Oftentimes as it goes, this is an insider’s game but I wish all the best to the new chairman and I wish great success to the party,” Cusato said. “The chairmanship requires a lot of a person and Republicans and conservatives deserve to have someone who will go above and beyond every single day.”

Proto praised the other candidates and said he hopes they will continue to be involved with the party. He said one of his first tasks is to hire an executive director “to help us rebuild and retool.”

Connecticut Republicans hold no federal or statewide elected offices and have lost seats in the legislature in recent election cycles. The party has also struggled to raise money in recent years under a Democratic governor whose popularity surged during the pandemic.

Proto said he plans to work with the Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives and Senate to start that rebuilding process.

That task could begin this summer, with a special election in Greenwich following the resignation Tuesday of Democratic state Sen. Alex Kasser. Before Kasser’s election in 2018, the seat had been held by the GOP.

“That’s a seat we should have and get back in the Republican column,” Proto said. He also cited this year’s municipal elections and the 2022 legislative cycle as priorities.

Proto was a Trump delegate in 2016 and led the former president’s campaign in Connecticut. But he also served as Connecticut coordinator for McCain’s 2000 presidential run. In 2018, Proto helped to run the unsuccessful gubernatorial run of businessman Steve Obsitnik.

Proto replaces former state Republican Chairman J.R. Romano, who led the party for more than five years before quitting abruptly in January. Sue Hatfield, a prosecutor and registered nurse from Pomfret, is filling Romano’s unexpired term but opted not to seek the permanent post.

Daniela Altimari can be reached at dnaltimari@courant.com.