Hartford Courant

CT Republicans scramble to replace candidate as he calls for death penalty for ‘sodomites’ Jadon E. MacCormack of Brooklyn, a 23-year-old candidate for the 50th House District in the state's northeastern "Quiet Corner,'' has rejected calls by numerous Republicans to drop out of the race. He could face a Republican primary in August. Jadon E. MacCormack of Brooklyn, a 23-year-old candidate for the 50th House District in the state’s northeastern “Quiet Corner,” has rejected calls by numerous Republicans to drop out of the race. He could face a Republican primary in August.

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By Kaitlin McCallum

A young legislative candidate at the center of a political firestorm has doubled down on both what officials from across the political spectrum are calling hateful remarks and his intent to stay in the race, causing Republicans to scramble to find an alternative to replace him on the November ballot.

Jadon E. MacCormack, a 23-year-old who calls himself a product of homeschooling, a Gospel singer and a “soul winner,” drew profuse condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike this week when he posted on social media a declaration of “Straight Pride Month” and promising, if elected, to stand against the “LGBT movement” that he said “has for too long corrupted our families, undermined parental authority, and eroded the foundational values of our society.”

Declaring it American to be anti-pride, MacCormack offered to “fight relentlessly in the state legislature” against gender-affirming care for youth, “indoctrination in schools, and the normalization of perverse ideologies.”

MacCormack has stood by his “Biblical beliefs” and his candidacy despite all members of state Republican leadership telling the young candidate to step aside. MacCormack won the party endorsement to challenge incumbent Democrat, state Rep. Pat Boyd of the 50th District, which represents Ashford, Brooklyn, Eastford, Hampton, Mansfield, Pomfret and Woodstock, at the convention.

MacCormack, an Eagle Scout and Brooklyn resident who worked at the state Capitol for the Republicans during this year’s legislative session, went further Wednesday in a radio appearance on WTIC News/Talk 1080’s “Reese on the Radio” program.

On the show, MacCormack said he alone is standing up against political correctness for what’s “righteous” and “pure” and that the stance has won him support in his district. He also remarked that from being unknown in the state’s Quiet Corner, he has gotten even the governor to make a statement about him and has been on TV.

His intent is to initially target gender-affirming care for youth, and then, when more likeminded legislators hold office “start passing more, harder legislation against the sodomites,” including the death penalty for homosexuality.

While he said he’s not advocating “individuals to be violent toward people,” MacCormack said the government should put to death people who engage in gay sex.

Confronted with his disregard for human life, he said, “I’m not denying it.”

His statements on the show prompted the Mark R. Mnich, leader of the Connecticut Republican Assembly, which calls itself “The Republican Wing of the Republican Party” aimed at making “Connecticut great again,” to abandon MacCormack.

“A true follower of Christ understands that mercy triumphs over judgment,” Mnich posted on Facebook. “So while we DO believe that we need to go back in time to recover the values that made America a “shining city upon a hill,” we don’t need to go THAT far back! And while we appreciate young men like Jadon running for office and displaying the courage to take an unpopular yet righteous stand on the newest frontier of the pro-life movement, his extreme solution to this problem will hurt our efforts to return to an America that is moral, faithful, and obedient to God’s commands. We need to do better than this.”

With time running short, the next step is that Republicans have already started to collect about 240 signatures by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 9, in order to force a primary, House Republican Leader Vince Candelora said Friday. The candidate is Anthony J. Emilio of Pomfret, a Republican small business owner who has run previously for the board of selectmen, school board, and board of assessment appeals over the past 15 years. His wife, Martha, is currently serving a four-year term on the town’s Board of Selectmen.

Republicans started collecting signatures Friday in the hopes of reaching their goal by Sunday with volunteers from the House, Senate, and state party.

Noting that adding another candidate in November would not get MacCormack off the ballot, Candelora said, “The only way to replace him as a Republican candidate would be through a primary. … I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and we’ve never had this kind of situation arise. We are just fortunate that we still have a window to attempt to put someone else on the ballot in November, and Republicans are making every effort to do that.”

Besides Candelora, the entire top tier of the Republican establishment, including state party chairman Ben Proto, Senate Republican leader Stephen Harding, and Sen. Ryan Fazio, the party’s nominee for governor, have all called upon MacCormack to drop out of the race.

Democrats called for the Republicans to push for a primary, but Candelora expressed outrage and said the comments were politically motivated.

“Please, please,” Candelora responded. “We’re way ahead of them. I find it highly insulting and offensive that the Democrat Party would even begin to suggest that they have the moral high ground on this issue. All they have attempted to do is politicize this issue and use it to hurt Republicans, rather than get in the game and provide a solution. There has not been a single Democrat who has reached out to me in the 50th district. It was the Republicans that came forward and sought the ability to get him out. … I would be more than happy if the Democrat Party wants to join us in knocking doors to support Anthony Emilio for this seat, but I suspect that won’t happen.”

Concerning Democrats and the primary, Candelora added, “They didn’t suggest it. They didn’t call me. We didn’t have a conversation. It is just insulting that they would try to use this to score political points.”