Democrats from several Fairfield County towns rallied in Easton on Saturday, focusing on the theme of protecting the reproductive rights of women.

The event was organized by Beth Cliff — the Democratic candidate for the state House of Representatives 112^th district (Monroe, Easton, Trumbull) — and State Rep. Anne Hughes (135^th district, Weston, Redding, Easton).

Ms. Cliff

Rep. Hughes

Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz said Connecticut is “the best state in the country for women and girls,” citing the minimum wage, paid family leave, and having “our own Roe law” on the books since the 1990s.

Lt. Governor Bysiewicz

Since the “now MAGA Supreme Court” overturned Roe v. Wade, said Ms. Bysiewicz, “22 million women live in states where abortion is banned or severely restricted.” She said “extremists are now trying to ban mifepristone” (the medication known as the “abortion pill”). She said “many other rights are at stake in this election,” and encouraged the audience to read Project 2025 to see which ones.

The advocates of that document, said Congressman Jim Himes, “have a 1950s vision of America.” He said he envies the Connecticut executive and legislative leadership for being able to work as a majority, saying that being in the minority party in the U.S. House involves “workplace hazards” like spending the morning “trying to tamp down conspiracy theories about FEMA money going to illegal aliens and that we control the weather.”

Congressman Himes

Governor Ned Lamont praised the slate of Democratic candidates and those who already hold office. “Every day we’re trying to make Connecticut the most family friendly state in the country,” he said, citing the gun safe storage law as an example of how Connecticut “is safer than all those states that belittle us.”

Gov. Lamont

Other speakers included Ms. Cliff, Rep. Hughes, and Rob Blanchard, the Democratic candidate in the 28^th State Senate district (Bethel, Easton, Fairfield, Newtown). Mr. Blanchard is currently the chief of staff for State Comptroller Sean Scanlon.

Also speaking: State Rep. Sarah Keitt, who represents the 134^th district (Trumbull, Fairfield) and Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox, the party’s nominee for the 22^nd State Senate district (Bridgeport, Monroe, Trumbull). Ms. Gadkar-Wilcox is a Constitutional law professor at Quinnipiac University.

Mr. Blanchard

Rep. Keitt

Ms. Gadkar-Wilcox