Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin easily knocked off incumbent Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) in a primary in Connecticut on Tuesday night, becoming the fourth challenger this year to defeat a significantly older incumbent Democrat in a primary. While never specifically saying the 78-year-old Larson was too old for the job, Bronin suggested a new approach was needed and implied Larson was out of touch after serving in Congress for 28 years. But while the other successful primaries for generational change this cycle involved millennial candidates who are members of the Democratic Socialists of America, Bronin is a 47-year-old mainstream liberal. Bronin, a Rhodes Scholar who served two terms as mayor, also worked in President Barack Obama’s Treasury Department and did a tour of Afghanistan as a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve. With the help of the super PAC VoteVets, which backs Democratic veterans for office, he was able to outspend Larson and his allies on television ads.But his comparatively conventional ideology ― he still backs Medicare for All and abolishing ICE ― and elite background did not prevent him from capitalizing on Democratic voters’ anger at the party establishment following the political failures of President Joe Biden, who planned to run for a second term in office as an octogenarian. Luke Bronin, a former mayor of Hartford and a Democratic candidate for U.S. representative, speaks at a news conference with firefighters and teachers on July 23 in West Hartford, Connecticut.AP Photo/Jessica HillLarson, known for his support of labor unions and advocacy for Social Security, tried to suggest tech and finance interests backing Bronin’s campaign meant his challenger would be less progressive. Larson’s allies worked to contrast the lawmaker’s blue-collar upbringing with Bronin’s elite credentials.While the state’s congressional delegation, including Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, rallied around Larson, Bronin ran with the backing of former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and won the endorsement of the state Democratic Party at a convention earlier this year.The two were battling in the state’s 1st District, which contains the capital of Hartford and most of its suburbs.Larson would be the 11th House incumbent to lose in a primary so far this election cycle, a historically high number. RelatedDemocratic Party2026 electionsConnecticut