As House Republican leader, Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-North Branford) found himself with a new partner in the Senate just after the 2024 legislative session began.
First-term Sen. Stephen Harding (R-Brookfield) was named Senate minority leader in late February last year after Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) was surprisingly ousted. Harding was re-elected to a second term in November, and once again leads the Senate GOP.
Candelora, elected to his 10th term in November, was the unanimous choice to serve as House Minority Leader for a third, two-year term.
Find out who else is in the 2025 Power 50
Unfortunately for the GOP, Democrats this past November gained additional seats in the House and Senate, giving them veto-proof majorities in both chambers.
Candelora and Harding, though, are nonetheless adamant about backing policies intended to make the state more affordable for residents and businesses. That includes lowering the state’s rising electric rates, for which both legislators joined in proposing a seven-point plan to address the issue.
Outside the legislature, Candelora helps run two family-owned businesses — a manufacturing company and a sportsplex. He has also practiced municipal and transactional law at a New Haven-based law firm.
Harding, a New York Law School graduate, recently joined a new law firm, Zabel Schellenberg PLLC in Orange.