House GOP’s Larry Cafero Not So Sure About Donovan’s Chances In General Election

House Republican leader Larry Cafero is known for his fiery criticisms of Democrats, but he has not been heavily critical of House Speaker Christopher Donovan.

The two leaders have become friends through the years, and they have worked closely on a wide variety of issues on the House floor – even if they did not vote the same way when the final vote was tallied.

Cafero avoided criticizing Donovan on Thursday after seven Donovan supporters were named in a federal grand jury indictment regarding contributions to Donovan’s Congressional campaign in the Fifth District that stretches from Simsbury to Danbury to Salisbury. Overall, eight people have been charged in the finance scandal on various criminal counts that include conspiracy, wire fraud, making campaign contributions in the name of another person, and making false statements.

Donovan is locked in a tough political battle as he seeks to win a Democratic primary on August 14 against former state Rep. Elizabeth Esty of Cheshire and political newcomer Dan Roberti of Kent.

When asked Thursday if Donovan can still win the primary, Cafero said, “All I know is the polls I’ve read. … I’m assuming given the amount of support from [union] organizations, he remains the frontrunner in the primary.’’

After the indictments became public, some of Donovan’s top supporters continued to express strong support for his candidacy. They included leaders of the union-backed Working Families Party, the state AFL-CIO, and MoveOn.org, a well-known liberal group.

But when Republicans and unaffiliated voters get the chance to vote in November in the 5th district, which has been known as a swing district in the past, Cafero said he was not so sure about Donovan’s chances.

“You’ve got a whole bunch of factors in the general election. That’s a very, very big difference,’’ Cafero said. “Having union support when you’re a Democrat is a wonderful thing in the primary. I’m not sure that’s a great thing in the general election.’’

On Thursday, a new television commercial was released by a pro-Roberti Super PAC that bashed both Donovan and Esty. Roberti was not mentioned in the ad, but it was paid by contributors who support him. Public records show that some of the contributors have given money to both Roberti’s campaign coffers and the Super PAC.

“It’s coming down to the wire, and people smell blood for different reasons,’’ Cafero said. “Perceptually, Roberti is third out of three. I think most people perceive him to be in third place. He’s figuring it’s do or die time, and he’s pulling out all the stops.”