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Connecticut Republicans tap restaurant owner Matt Corey to challenge Sen. Chris Murphy in a rematch

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Connecticut Republicans tap restaurant owner Matt Corey to challenge Sen. Chris Murphy in a rematch
News

News

Connecticut Republicans tap restaurant owner Matt Corey to challenge Sen. Chris Murphy in a rematch

2024-08-14 11:25 Last Updated At:11:30

Matt Corey, a Connecticut entrepreneur who unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House and Senate in the past, won the Republican nomination Tuesday to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy again, saying he believes voters are more receptive to his message.

Corey, whose victory in the primary came against Gerry Smith, the top elected official in the small town of Beacon Falls, said voters are fed up with high energy costs, inflation and job losses.

“It’s just affordability, job opportunities. It’s pretty much similar to what I ran last time,” he said in a phone interview. “And all the policies that are coming out of Washington and what Sen. Murphy is embracing, it’s not going to move Connecticut forward or any of these businesses forward.”

Corey, who bills himself as “the fighter (former President) Donald Trump needs by his side,” on his campaign signs, credited his win to hard work and strong volunteer support. Smith received the party’s endorsement at the state convention in May, but Corey got enough delegate support to run in the primary.

In a nighttime post on the social platform X, Corey thanked Connecticut Republicans and added: “I am deeply honored by the trust you have placed on me.”

Connecticut voters have not elected a Republican to the Senate since the late Lowell P. Weicker in 1982.

Murphy has a huge fundraising advantage: As of June 30, he had $9.7 million in cash on hand for the general election, according to federal election records, compared with $32,000 for Corey as of July 24.

But Corey was dismissive of the senator's large war chest.

“Nine million dollars doesn’t make you a great representation of Connecticut. It just hides your policies better,” said Corey, who called on Murphy to defend those policies in a debate.

Corey served in the Navy from 1982 to 1987 and was deployed to Beruit in 1983. A small businessman, he owned a window cleaning business for high-rise buildings in the state for more than 30 years. He also owned a pub in Hartford and now owns and operates a pub at a golf course in East Hartford.

Corey also ran three times and lost in the Hartford area’s heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District and waged an unsuccessful state Senate campaign in 2020.

The primary came as candidates in the state’s most competitive congressional race were already set: a rematch between Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat seeking a fourth term, and Republican George Logan, a former state senator.

Logan, who lost to Hayes in 2022 by about 2,000 votes from a quarter of a million cast, was nominated by party leaders and didn’t need to compete in a primary this year.

Also Tuesday, Dr. Michael Goldstein, an ophthalmologist and lawyer, won the Republican nomination in Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District.

Goldstein, who is from Greenwich and lost a primary in the same district two years ago, defeated Bob MacGuffie, a leader in the state’s tea party movement.

Goldstein will now challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, who is seeking his ninth term, in November.

Goldstein says he will use his background as a physician to help reduce medical costs. He has also pledged to better secure the border, restore energy independence, improve the economy, protect parental rights and fight antisemitism.

A sign for Matt Corey, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, greets GOP primary voters on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the entrance of a polling place being held at the Norwich Worship Center in Norwich, Conn. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

A sign for Matt Corey, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, greets GOP primary voters on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the entrance of a polling place being held at the Norwich Worship Center in Norwich, Conn. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

Signs for Matt Corey, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, stand posted outside the Sayles School in Sprague, Conn., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, for a statewide primary. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

Signs for Matt Corey, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, stand posted outside the Sayles School in Sprague, Conn., Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, for a statewide primary. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

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Japan's exports hit record high, but trade deficit continues

2025-01-23 13:16 Last Updated At:13:21

TOKYO (AP) — Japan saw record-high exports last year, as its annual trade deficit declined 44% from the previous year, the Finance Ministry reported Thursday.

The trade deficit, which measures the value of exports minus imports, totaled 5.3 trillion yen ($34 billion), according to government data, as imports ballooned on the back of rising energy costs and growing inflation around the world.

Exports from the world’s third-largest economy totaled 107.9 trillion yen ($691 billion), surpassing the 100 trillion yen mark for the second-straight year, and the biggest value on record for comparable data, which dates back to 1979, the ministry said.

Some companies may have sped up their exports in anticipation of potential tariffs by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said he expects to put 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting Feb. 1. During his campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs on imports from China, although details on that remain unclear.

For the month of December, exports gained a greater-than-expected 2.8% on-year, while imports rose 1.8%. Exports grew to Asian and European nations, while dipping slightly to the U.S.

Imports grew most from India, Hong Kong and Iran.

Demand was especially strong for Japan's vehicles, semiconductors and other machinery.

The weakening yen, another recent trend, has the effect of inflating the value of imports. The U.S. dollar has been hovering at 150-yen levels, sometimes surpassing 160 yen, over the past year, while a year ago it was often at 140-yen levels.

Japan has recorded a trade deficit for four straight years, but last year's deficit was considerably smaller than the 9.5 trillion yen deficit for 2023.

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

FILE - Cars for export are parked at a port in Yokohama, near Tokyo, on July 6, 2020. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

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