GOP candidate Peter Lumaj calls for cooling off period this week in heated U.S. Senate race after death of fellow candidate’s mother

Republican Peter Lumaj called Tuesday for a cooling-off period this week from personal political attacks in order to mourn the death of a fellow candidate’s mother.

Lumaj, who is running in a three-way primary for the U.S. Senate on Aug. 9, criticized conservative candidate Leora Levy of Greenwich for leveling attacks on Themis Klarides, whose mother died on July 15 at the age of 89. The wake for Theodora Klarides is scheduled for Thursday and the funeral Mass will be Friday.

Klarides had been spending time recently with her mother at Griffin Hospital in Derby after she was transferred there after receiving daily care in her home.

After Klarides’s mother died on Friday, the Levy campaign released a long memo several days later of more than 20 paragraphs that blasted Klarides and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Levy had previously derided Klarides as a “Hartford swamp creature’' and “the next Liz Cheney’' who would vote with Democrats if she gets to Congress.

“Themis Klarides is a Democrat in disguise,’' wrote Christopher Velazco, Levy’s campaign manager. “From the start, Themis Klarides and the Establishment have spread misinformation and lied, and when countered, Themis whines and cries foul to the media. It’s apparent that she did not think twice about attacking our party’s National Committeewoman, but now that she knows she is losing the fight, she is trying to beg off.’'

He added, “Themis wants to be seen as being above the fray but truly, she is behind the recent pathetic attempt to disparage Leora with false attacks. Her campaign circulated a letter attacking Leora, full of the whining, insider baseball, and crocodile tears you would expect from the Establishment when its back is up against the wall.’'

Lumaj, who is running for statewide office for the fourth time, said he understands clashes over policies during a campaign, but added the personal attacks must stop for the coming days this week.

“What strikes me as morally reprehensible was Leora Levy’s decision to launch a massive personal attack against Themis Klarides while her family is grieving the passing of her mother,’' Lumaj said. “In campaigns, we have to talk about candidates’ records and any issues in them must be discussed and brought before the voters. But for now I am calling on Leora Levy to leave personal attacks against Themis Klarides out of the discussion for the next few days, to give her and her family time to mourn. I will be praying for Themis and her family over the next few days, and I encourage you to as well.”

Later Tuesday, a campaign spokeswoman said that Levy had expressed her sympathies on a radio show hosted by a former Republican legislator.

“Leora expressed her deepest condolences to Themis Klarides this morning on the Gary Byron show,’' the spokeswoman said. “All of our thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time. Leora is going to continue fighting for our principles and point out where her opponent’s record doesn’t match our priorities. There’s one conservative outsider in the race for Senate, and we know that Leora’s message is resonating with voters.’'

Brian Werstler, a spokesman for Klarides, said the entire campaign is thinking about Klarides and her younger sister, Nicole.

“We owe it to their mom to press on and go win this thing,’' Werstler said Tuesday. “Politics is a tough business, but there is still room for basic human decency in our interactions with each other. Peter is a gentleman and his kind words, respect, and civility mean a great deal to Themis and the team.’'

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com