Leora Levy

Leora Mariana Levy (née Rosenberg; born March 31, 1957[1]) is a Cuban-born American businesswoman and politician. She was the Republican nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut.

Leora Levy
Personal details
Born
Leora Mariana Rosenberg

(1957-03-31) March 31, 1957
Havana, Cuba
Spouse
Steven Levy
​
(m. 1985)​
Children3
EducationBrown University (BA)

Early life and education

Levy was born in Cuba in 1957. Her mother and grandparents fled Lithuania in 1940.[2] Her family migrated to the United States in 1960 to escape Fidel Castro's regime.[3] She earned an Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in International Relations.[4][5][6] Levy is Jewish and is fluent in Spanish.

Career

Levy was one of the first female commodity traders to work as a sugar trader and an assistant vice president at Ambrit Sugars, as well as a traffic executive and trader for international sugar, steel and copper concentrates at Phibro-Salomon, Inc.[4]

Politics

Levy was finance chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party from 2013 to 2015.[5] She served as the finance chair for Republican Bob Stefanowski during his unsuccessful bid for Governor of Connecticut in 2018.[7] She is a representative to the Republican National Committee for Connecticut. In 2019, Levy was named the winner of the Prescott Bush Award, the highest honor of the Connecticut Republican Party.[8][9]

In the 2016 Republican primary, she supported Florida Governor Jeb Bush. She criticized Donald Trump, saying at the time that he was "vulgar, ill-mannered and disparages those whom he cannot intimidate".[9] She later applauded Trump's leadership.[9]

In February 2022, she voted for a package of RNC resolutions that included a censure of Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Ambassadorship nomination

On September 26, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Levy to be the next United States Ambassador to Chile.[4] On October 25, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate.[10] On January 3, 2020, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[11] On May 4, 2020, her renomination was sent to the Senate.[12] On January 3, 2021, her nomination was returned to the President under the same Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[13]

Candidacy for U.S. Senate
Main article: 2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut

In February 2022, Levy announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate to represent Connecticut, to run against incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal. The primary had been described as being between the moderate and conservative wings of the Republican party, with Levy being the conservative candidate against the more moderate former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides. Abortion was a key issue within the primary, with Klarides supporting abortion rights and Levy supporting the right to life.[14][15][3][16]

On August 4, 2022, five days before the Republican primary, former President Donald Trump endorsed Levy.[17] On August 9, Levy defeated Klarides and attorney Peter Lumaj in the primary.[18] Many have described her victory as an upset.[14][15][19]

In her acceptance speech, Levy reminded supporters of her opposition to job-related vaccine requirements, and abortion and transgender rights.[20]

On November 8, 2022, Blumenthal, with 57.5% of votes cast, convincingly defeated Levy to win a third term in the Senate.[21]

Personal life

On June 2, 1985, Rosenberg married Stephen Levy, in Rye, New York. They have three sons and seven dogs. Levy resides in Greenwich, Connecticut.[22]

References
  1. United States Public Records, 1970-2009
  2. "Israel & the Middle East". Leora Levy - Official Senate Campaign Website. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  3. "Trump-backed Levy wins GOP Senate primary in Connecticut". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  4. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Personnel to Key Administration Posts". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. The White House. September 26, 2019.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. "Levy, Leora Rosenberg - Republic of Chile - October 2019". United States Department of State. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  6. Keating, Christopher. "After escaping Castro's Cuba as a child, Leora Levy has become the top Republican fundraiser in Connecticut". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  7. Kroeker, Jo (December 12, 2019). "Trump ambassador hopeful Leora Levy of Greenwich once called him 'vulgar'". Greenwich Time. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  8. Altimari, Daniela; Keating, Christopher. "White House nominates Greenwich's Leora Levy to be U.S. ambassador to Chile". Hartford Courant. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  9. Osnos, Evan (May 3, 2020). "How Greenwich Republicans Learned to Love Trump". The New Yorker. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
  10. "Twenty-five Nominations and Three Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. The White House. October 25, 2019.
  11. "PN1162 - Nomination of Leora Rosenberg Levy for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". Congress.gov. January 3, 2020. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  12. "Thirty Nominations and One Withdrawal Sent to the Senate". trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov. The White House. May 4, 2020.
  13. "PN1734 - Nomination of Leora Rosenberg Levy for Department of State, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". Congress.gov. January 3, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  14. "Trump-backed Leora Levy scores MAGA upset in Connecticut GOP Senate primary". August 10, 2022.
  15. "Donald Trump-backed GOP Connecticut primary candidate Leora Levy wins in upset". Fox News. August 10, 2022.
  16. "Klarides draws conservative criticism ahead of GOP primary". AP NEWS. July 26, 2022. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  17. Pazniokas, Mark (August 4, 2022). "Donald Trump endorses Leora Levy for U.S. Senate in live phone call". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved August 5, 2022.
  18. "Endorsed by Trump, Leora Levy Wins GOP U.S. Senate Primary in Connecticut". NBC Connecticut. August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  19. "Leora Levy wins surprise victory for U.S. Senate after gaining Trump endorsement; Erick Russell wins for treasurer". August 10, 2022.
  20. Pazniokas, Mark (August 2, 2022). "Who is Leora Levy? Meet the CT GOP candidate for U.S. Senate running on Trump's platform". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
  21. Phillips, Erica E.; Hagen, Lisa (November 9, 2022). "CT Senate race results: Richard Blumenthal defeats Leora Levy". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  22. "LEORA ROSENBERG AND STEVEN LEVY ARE WED IN RYE". The New York Times. June 2, 1985. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
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