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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | APRIL 7, 2025 11 POLITICS & POLICY policy, as opposed to one of 151" in the House. Harding married his wife, Kelly, in 2016 and went on to serve four, two-year terms in the state House. During his tenure, he and Kelly had two children. While in the House, Harding also maintained close relationships with Sen. Chapin and his successor, Sen. Craig Miner (R-Litchfield). When Miner retired in 2022, Harding saw another opportunity. "I had, at that point, four terms in the House and felt that I had learned enough to be able to represent a broader swath of constituents in the Senate," he said. He was elected to his first term in the 30th District, the state's largest geographically, in November 2022. 'A different direction' Two years later, while still serving that first, two-year term in the Senate, another opportunity presented itself. Following pressure from the Republican caucus, Sen. Kevin Kelly (R-Stratford) stepped down as Senate minority leader, a position the seven- term legislator had held since 2020. To succeed Kelly, the Senate GOP caucus — which at the time had 12 members, including Harding — chose the freshman senator from Brookfield as their new leader. The choice caught Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) by surprise. "It traditionally takes years to earn a lead- ership position," Duff said. "So, it was defi- nitely something new." "I think the caucus felt that something needed to change," said Sen. Henri Martin (R-Bristol), who was elected to his sixth term in 2024 and whom Harding chose as his deputy. "Everybody said we needed to go in a different direction and change leadership." It was Harding's intelligence and energy that drew the caucus to him, Martin said. Harding said he understood the need for a new direction. "I think it (meant) being a little bit more forceful in how we advocated for policy and the positions that we took," he said. The caucus also wanted to change the way it worked with the majority, Harding said. "It was time that we really started taking strong stances on what we believed in and standing strong beside that, as opposed to turning that in for transactional purposes legislatively," he said. Duff, the Senate majority leader, said he has a good working relation- ship with Harding. "I like him," he said. "We disagree on things, but as long as it's not personal I think that's okay." Unifying the caucus At the time he was elected Senate minority leader, Harding stated that a primary goal was to unite the GOP in both chambers. Martin believes he achieved that goal. "Yes, I think so," he said. "We're identifying issues that I think the public wants us to pay attention to, and we're all rallying around that. I don't think there's much resistance." A key issue for Harding, who was re-elected to a second term in 2024, and his caucus has been to make the state more affordable for residents and businesses. That includes being outspoken about rising electric rates and offering a six-point plan that calls for removing the public benefits charge from electric bills and prohibiting agreements to buy electricity at 150% above the wholesale price, among other ideas. "If you speak with people of all political spectrums, they will tell you the legislature should do some- thing about that," Harding said of electric rates. "I think that's why … Republicans have been somewhat effective in this building, despite our smaller numbers, in impacting that discussion … and forcing the majority party to do something." The GOP is also united against altering the fiscal guardrails for the state budget, despite increasing pressure from some Democrats and special interest groups concerned about the possibility of significant cuts in federal funding, particularly to nonprofits, Medicaid and other entitlement programs. Harding believes Democrats, both here and in D.C., are only playing politics with talk of federal cuts. "In the end, I think there'll be minimal to no budgetary impacts," he said. Duff, the Senate majority leader, disagrees. "I hope he's right, but that doesn't seem like that's quite reality," he said. Party planning In the 2024 election, Democrats increased their already significant majorities in both legislative chambers. They now hold 102 seats in the House and 25 in the Senate. That was a net gain of five seats overall, including four in the House. Harding, though, is undaunted, noting that Republicans did better than expected in some key races. "We had two senators down in lower Fairfield County, Sen. (Tony) Hwang and Sen. (Ryan) Fazio, that many Democrats were completely writing off as there was no way they were going to get reelected," he said. "And both of them got elected by extremely wide margins." In the end, he said, the GOP fared about two seats better than people esti- mated, so I think that we can advance on that." Harding says the Republican Party needs to stop worrying about "defending" seats statewide and start focusing on "taking" seats. "I think that change in direction and focus will be critical to, potentially, seeing gains in both the Senate and the House going into the next election cycle," he said. As for his own political aspirations, he says he's too focused on the current legislative session to give full consideration to running for higher office, up to and including governor in 2026. "I'm always open to serving this state in larger capacities," he said. "I think when the session comes to an end and things calm down a little bit, I can be more reflective of where I currently am, and I could probably make a better decision about what I believe my future would be for myself and for the state." Bob Duff Henri Martin GOP'S SIX-POINT PLAN TO LOWER ELECTRIC RATES • Remove public benefits charges — which cover costs related to state-mandated programs for energy efficiency, renewable energy, low-income assistance, etc. — from electric bills. • Prohibit agreements that buy electricity at 150% above the wholesale price. • Redefine "Class I renewable energy source" to include any electricity generated from a hydropower or nuclear power generating facility. • Separate the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, which oversees electric rates, from the Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. • Eliminate any incentive program that increases electric demand, including, any electric vehicle rebate program. • Study ways to increase the supply of natural gas.