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The far left is calling for a purge in the Democratic Party of anyone not woke enough — and first-term Waterford Rep. Nick Gauthier is leading the charge.
At a June 9th Working Families Party legislative debrief, Gauthier called for a full-blown political exorcism, demanding a culling of anyone in his party who doesn’t fall in line with his hard-left agenda.
He outlined a plan to lock progressive lawmakers, union operatives, and movement loyalists in a room — and not let them out until they’ve chosen a single candidate to primary the governor.
He didn’t say he’d pick the new figurehead himself, but let’s be honest: when you’re the one calling the meeting, setting the rules, and declaring who’s pure enough to stay in the party, you’re not just some concerned freshman lawmaker. You’re auditioning for kingmaker.
And in case there was any doubt he meant it, Gauthier made his disdain for his own party glaringly obvious.
According to Gauthier, Connecticut’s House doesn’t just have a moderate wing — it has a problem with moderation altogether. He sneered that there’s “a moderate caucus of one, and that is the governor,” while also dismissing roughly 20 of his fellow Democrats as “very pro-corporate.”
Gauthier’s targets were fellow Democrats who dared to compromise on the Trust Act — a 2013 law that blocks local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents — or question the wisdom of handing out unemployment checks to striking workers.
Even moderates who cautiously admitted, “Hey, I’m fiscally conservative, but sometimes it’s great to do progressive things,” weren’t safe. In Gauthier’s world, if you’re not all-in on soaking the rich, backing every union demand, and treating ICE like a terrorist organization, you’re not part of the team — you’re a traitor.
This is what it looks like when a party starts eating its own. On one side: the Working Families Party, union-backed progressives, and full-blown socialists. On the other: Democrats who still believe in arithmetic. Gauthier didn’t mince words — if you don’t fall in line, you’re the problem. The big tent is gone. And first up on the chopping block? The sitting Democratic governor.
It gets better. Gauthier claims there are “80 to 82 votes” in the House to ram through “just about any progressive priority we want.” Child tax credits? Check. The full Trust Act? Check. More giveaways to organized labor? Check. Tax hikes on the rich? Double check. “There’s definitely a majority vote,” he boasted.
Gauthier didn’t even bother hiding his contempt for the governor. In the Zoom chat during the debriefing, he referred to Lamont as the “democrat governor” — in quotes — like he is some kind of impostor. In Gauthier-world, if you’re not handing out public dollars like Halloween candy or socialist enough, you’re not a Democrat. You’re just in the way.
Let’s not sugarcoat this. This isn’t just fringe ambition — it’s a mutiny. Gauthier is floating an in-party insurrection, openly calling on labor operatives and progressive legislators to lock themselves in a room and handpick a challenger to Lamont. “We all need to get into a room together,” he said, “and we don’t leave that room until we all decide on one candidate.”
He even said the quiet part out loud: “Power responds to power.” Gauthier dismissed protests like May Day rallies as useless unless they come with a strike threat. In his words, SEIU 1199 “got what they needed” because they threatened to walk out. He called that “real power.” Not debate. Not persuasion. Not democracy. Threats.
He even casually endorsed Sen. Saud Anwar’s op-ed encouraging Lamont not to run again, saying “a lot of us internally see and feel” the same way.
Nick Gauthier may think he's leading a movement. What he's really doing is handing Republicans a campaign ad — along with giving independents and unaffiliated a reason to run screaming from the Democratic Party.
