Greenwich resident Dan Quigley voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020. Each time, Quigley said he was appalled by Trump’s behavior and his actions, but just never enough to stop voting for him.
Until now.
Quigley, the former chair of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee (RTC), said he’s voting for Vice President Kamala Harris, the first time he’s ever voted for a Democratic presidential nominee.
“I'm voting for the vice president in this election, because I don't feel that it's enough to just not vote for him. I think you have to vote for her,” Quigley said.
Quigley said his support for Trump changed after the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
“Top of my list, the worst day for the Republican Party since 1974 when President Nixon resigned and Watergate,” Quigley said. “And at that moment, I made a decision that I would never vote for him again, and that I would oppose his movement as much as I could.”
But Quigley is one of a few prominent Republicans in Greenwich who are willing to publicly state they’re voting for Harris. He says extremist elements continue to be influential within the local Republican Party, despite alienating moderate and liberal voters.
Many fellow Greenwich Republicans aren’t willing to say that, Quigley said.
“There's not a lot of other people who want to do that, and I've been frustrated the last four years, trying to get other people to do it, but I understand why,” he said.
According to Quigley, the extremist wing of the Greenwich Republican Party, which he estimates to be around 40%, is still organized enough to marshal support away from moderate Republican candidates.
They pushed Quigley out as RTC chair in 2022 after he wrote an opinion piece calling on the local party to distance themselves from Trump’s rhetoric.
Candidates who allied themselves with the new RTC leadership ran on extremist attacks on LGBTQ+ causes, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, and lost. The more conservative RTC leadership ended up being voted out this year.
Many Republican officials in town, such as First Selectman Fred Camillo, aren’t too keen on talking about Trump, partly because they’re focused on down-ballot races. Camillo says residents are more concerned about things like inflation and the economy.
“Every time they go to the gas pump or to the grocery store, they're not worrying about who voted for who nationally,” Camillo said.
He’s not willing to say who he will vote for.
And Quigley said there’s a good reason for Republicans staying mum.
“Good Republican candidates are perennially caught in between this rock and a hard place of either saying something or not, and they get punished both ways because of (Trump),” Quigley said.
A majority of Greenwich voters are unaffiliated and Democrats began to slightly outnumber Republicans in 2021, months after the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. But that doesn’t mean Republicans in town feel comfortable publicly denouncing Trump.
“If you're a Republican who's a good Republican, who's running for office, the moment you step out and you speak out against him, you may get some credit from people, but the element of the party that supports him will cut off its support for you,” Quigley said. “That’s the risk.”
Quigley has a habit of saying “good Republicans” and by that, he means a GOP candidate who doesn't get caught up on social grievances. Basically, someone who Democrats and unaffiliated voters can also feel comfortable supporting.
Quigley says Ryan Fazio, the current state senator for the 36th District, is a “good Republican.” Fazio is running for reelection and is being challenged by Democratic candidate Nick Simmons. Fazio didn’t want to talk about Trump.
“If I wanted to prognosticate or opine on national politics, I would have run for Congress,” Fazio said.
Simmons said Fazio is less center-right than he lets on.
“In 2018, he said in an editorial, Roe v. Wade is an offense against the rule of law,” Simmons said. “He voted against a pretty common sense gun comprehensive gun safety bill.”
But Quigley said if moderate candidates lose, then that gives the Trump loyalist wing room to take over the local party once again. Trump supporters could plausibly say that moderate Republicans have failed and launch an attempt at taking over the local Greenwich Republican Party again.
“They in turn, I believe, want to see these candidates – or some of them – fail, so they can say, ‘you … got rid of us and you ran these RINO candidates,” Quigley said.
After touching base with various prominent Republicans in Greenwich, I wanted to speak with a Republican voter in town who openly supports Trump and is willing to talk about it. I reached out to Jackie Homan of Greenwich Patriots, a conservative political group. Homan operates their blog.
She declined the interview and responded to the request by emailing a link to a post on her blog that blasts illegal immigration and transgender rights and says that Democratic leaders live in a bubble.
The post ended with this message: “Lastly, since Connecticut Public needed to ask, we will make it crystal clear: We will be proudly voting for Donald Trump, just like everyone we know.”
