TrinVotes Initiative and League of Women Voters Draws First Congressional District Candidates Running On Trinity’s Campus

Rajsi Rana ’26

News Editor

On Oct. 24, 2024, the League of Women Voters of Greater Hartford sponsored an on-campus debate with Republican candidate Jim Griffin, Democrat candidate John Larson and Green Party candidate Mary L. Sanders. All three candidates are running to represent the U.S. House of Representatives’ First Congressional District of Connecticut. This area includes Greater Hartford as well as Bristol, Cromwell, Southington and Winsted. This event was part of Trinity College President Joanne Berger-Sweeney TrinVotes initiative, a non-partisan initiative to make voting more accessible to Trinity College students. 

Griffin is from New Britain, and considers himself, “a whistleblower of sorts,” and an unconventional candidate, according to his platform. Larson is from Mayberry Village in East Hartford, and “opposed the policies of preemption and unilateralism.” Sanders is from New Britain as well, and is involved in several community and cultural organizations. 

The debate was moderated by Deb Polun from the West Hartford Town Council, with timekeepers sitting in front of the candidates. The debate began with opening statements from all three candidates, and covered topics of economy, climate change, social security, Connecticut’s wealth gap between cities, reproductive health, immigration, the healthcare system, ongoing events in the middle east and the money Connecticut gives to D.C. 

Griffin, throughout the debate, discussed his opinions of government coruption, pharmaceutical industry conspiracies, and economic problems in Connecticut, largely tying them back to immigration. Throughout the debate, he stated that, “we know the cure for cancer, diabetes… the pharmaceutical industry is corrupt.” Larson discussed how he considers himself, “a product of public housing, education and service.” He focussed on issues throughout the debate such as President Biden’s effect on the economy, the current low-employment rate, and his views on reproductive health considering the fact that he is the father to two daughters. Sanders spoke largely about the economy since COVID-19 and the minimum wage, calling it “embarrassing,” remarking at its low price compared to the cost of living. 

Although the debate cycled through several important topics, some topics that continued to resurface were climate change, the medical system and immigrations effects on the economy. All three candidates had different opinions regarding the state of these topics within the country, and within Conneticut. The debate remained civil, with minimal interruptions and each speaker generally abiding by the time limit. The debate ended with closing remarks made by each candidate.

The event closed off with Polun giving a closing remark of, “Thank you all for joining us in this exchange of ideas this evening. Don’t forget to vote.”