There's a Democratic candidate challenging US Rep. Rosa DeLauro for Congress. 'I am very tenacious'

Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant on Jun 10, 2026

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HARTFORD, Conn. — An upstart challenger to longtime U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro says that he will not have enough signatures to force a Democratic primary but is strongly considering an independent challenge in November.

Andrew Rice, 38, said he is not giving up in his battle with DeLauro after falling short at the party convention and in the recent petition drive for a primary.

“I am very tenacious,” Rice told The Hartford Courant in an interview Tuesday. “I do not give up easily.”

The next step is that Rice says he would need 3,290 signatures by Aug. 5 at 4 p.m. to gain a spot on the November ballot. Political insiders noted that it is much easier to run in November because candidates can collect signatures from voters of all political parties, rather than only Democrats for a primary.

As long as his team of volunteers is ready, Rice said he will continue campaigning over the next five months.

“I am personally full force behind the idea because the people of Connecticut’s 3rd District deserve a choice, and we need to hold Rosa DeLauro accountable for her policy failures,” Rice said in an interview. “I personally am ready to take this all the way to November, but this isn’t a one-man show. This is a team effort.”

Rice has devoted most of his time recently to the battle for Congress. As he campaigns full-time across the district, Rice has been unemployed since Oct. 1 and dips into his life savings and 401 (k) investments to pay for his daily expenses.

“One of the considerations in mounting an independent challenge is that I will run out of 401 (k) money, and so I need to evaluate how much risk I am willing to take on, especially in these times,” Rice said.

Describing himself as “a complete political novice,” Rice holds a master’s degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of New Haven. He worked for 12 years at Yale University, including five years as a laboratory technician and seven years as a lab manager before working for three years as a scientific project manager for a small bio-tech nonprofit firm.

After losing at the Democratic convention with 13% of the delegates to DeLauro’s 87%, Rice started trying to collect the necessary 3,386 verified signatures from the 3rd District. But he ended up with about 1,500 signatures and said he would not meet the deadline of 4 p.m. Tuesday.

In a clash with the party establishment, Rice charged that the Democratic Party did not follow the rules at the 3rd District convention. A three-member panel of the state party rejected the ideas of either placing Rice on the ballot or holding another convention and essentially certified that DeLauro won the convention nomination.

“The Democratic Party broke convention rules,” Rice said. “The convention is just riddled with absolute corruption.”

The challenge against DeLauro is unusual because she is a political powerhouse in a heavily Democratic district who has won elections by large margins for decades.

As an 83-year-old grandmother, DeLauro has served in Congress since 1991 with some of the most powerful politicians in Washington. She has been a close confidante of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, hosting Pelosi in Connecticut and introducing her at major events like the Bailey Dinner that was long known as the Jefferson Jackson Bailey Dinner or JJB.

Through a spokesman, DeLauro said, “I welcome anyone that wants to run for the seat.”

Despite her high status in Washington and long record on constituent service, Rice believes that DeLauro has not done enough.

“It’s very disappointing, if not cowardly, that the Democratic Party is too afraid to have this primary and have Rosa DeLauro stand on her record and policies and debate me because if she and the Democratic Party are too afraid to face a primary challenge from a complete political novice, how does that give any Democrat the confidence that they have what it takes to fight back against Trump’s extremist agenda?” Rice asked. “She is not as progressive as she claims to be, and despite being the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, I do not feel that she has been effectively wielding that power to bring in the money that our district deserves.”

Rejecting the notion that he is challenging DeLauro from the left, Rice said, “Most people will observe this as I am running to her left. I observe this as I am running as a working, middle-class American challenging a corporate centrist Democrat.”