Leora Levy (born Leora Mariana Rosenberg; 1957) is a Cuban-American businesswoman and politician. She was the Republican nominee in the

2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut The 2022 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 8, 2022, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the State of Connecticut. Democrat Richard Blumenthal was first elected to this seat in 2010 with 5 ...

Early life and education

Levy was born in Cuba in 1957. Her mother and grandparents fled

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

in 1940. Her family migrated to the United States in 1960 to escape

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

's regime. She earned an

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

in International Relations. Levy is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

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. Levy was finance chairman of the

Connecticut Republican Party The Connecticut Republican Party is the Connecticut affiliate of the national Republican Party. Republicans control neither chamber of the state legislature, no constitutional state offices, none of the state's five seats in the U.S. House, and ...

from 2013 to 2015. She served as the finance chair for Republican

Bob Stefanowski Robert Vincent Stefanowski (born May 21, 1962) is an American business executive and politician. Born and raised in North Haven, Connecticut, he is a former business executive of General Electric, 3i Group plc, UBS, and Dollar Financial Group. ...

during his unsuccessful bid for

Governor of Connecticut The governor of Connecticut is the head of government of Connecticut, and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Connecticu ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. She is a representative to the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fu ...

for

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. In 2019, Levy was named the winner of the

Prescott Bush Prescott Sheldon Bush (May 15, 1895 – October 8, 1972) was an American banker as a Wall Street executive investment banker, he represented Connecticut in the from 1952 of the Bush family, he was the father of former Vice President and Pre ...

Award, the highest honor of the

. In the 2016 Republican primary, she supported

Florida Governor The governor of Florida is the head of government of the state of Florida and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Florida ...

Jeb Bush John Ellis "Jeb" Bush (born February 11, 1953) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. Bush, who grew up in Houston, was the second son of former President George H. W. Bush a ...

. She criticized

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

, saying at the time that he was "vulgar, ill-mannered and disparages those whom he cannot intimidate". She later applauded Trump's leadership. In February 2022, she voted for a package of RNC resolutions that included a

censure A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...

of Reps.

Liz Cheney Elizabeth Lynne Cheney (; born July 28, 1966) is an American attorney and politician who has been the U.S. representative for since 2017, with her term expiring in January 2023. She chaired the House Republican Conference, the third-highest p ...

and

Adam Kinzinger Adam Daniel Kinzinger (; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district covers eastern Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, most of Rockford's suburbs, and ...

Ambassadorship nomination

On September 26, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Levy to be the next

United States Ambassador to Chile The following is a list of ambassadors that the United States has sent to Chile. The current title given by the United States State Department to this position is Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary. See also *Ambassadors of ...

. On October 25, 2019, her nomination was sent to the Senate. On January 3, 2020, her nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. On May 4, 2020, her renomination was sent to the Senate. On January 3, 2021, her nomination was returned to the President under the same Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

Candidacy for U.S. Senate

In February 2022, Levy announced her candidacy for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

to represent

, to run against incumbent Democratic

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Richard Blumenthal Richard Blumenthal (; born February 13, 1946) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Connecticut, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he is one of the wealthiest members of ...

. 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 Themis Klarides (born August 3, 1965) is an American attorney and politician from the state of Connecticut. She served in the Connecticut House of Representatives, serving as House Minority Leader from 2015 through 2021. In that position, she was ...

. Abortion was a key issue within the primary, with Klarides supporting abortion rights and Levy supporting the right to life. On August 4, 2022, five days before the Republican primary, former President

endorsed Levy. On August 9, Levy defeated Klarides and attorney Peter Lumaj in the primary. Many have described her victory as an upset. In her acceptance speech, Levy reminded supporters of her opposition to job-related vaccine requirements, and abortion and transgender rights. On November 8, 2022, Blumenthal defeated Levy to win a third term in the Senate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Leora 1957 births 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople American people of Cuban-Jewish descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Brown University alumni Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections Connecticut Republicans Cuban emigrants to the United States Cuban Jews Living people Philanthropists from Connecticut