Gov. Ned Lamont spent the last Sunday before the Democratic primary making  appeals to Black and urban voters from two church pulpits and get-out-the-vote rallies in Hartford, Meriden, New Britain and New Haven — all providing speaking opportunities reflecting the advantages of incumbency. H is challenger, Rep. Josh Elliott, campaigned in Bridgeport and at Ecuadorian flag-raising events in Stamford and Danbury. It was not to be a day for Elliott to deliver any speeches. His last event did put him amid 16,000 people, but it was a Nate Bargatze comedy show in Hartford.   Elliott was in the audience, not on stage. Sunday was the last day of early voting, and Elliott’s challenge of Lamont for the Democratic nomination is the only statewide contest in either party. More than 50,000 Democrats already have cast their votes through absentee ballots and early voting in advance of Tuesday’s primary. Gov. Ned Lamont listens to a speaker during a Get Out The Vote Rally in New Britain on Sunday, August 9, 2026. Credit: Sarah Gordon / CT Mirror Lamont is the beneficiary of the contacts amassed over nearly eight years as governor, as well the political infrastructure that comes with being endorsed at the state party convention. He and his wife, Annie, began the day at First Cathedral, a Black megachurch in the Hartford suburb of Bloomfield. It was not the governor’s first visit, nor the first time he used the church as an important conduit to the Black community. Lamont chose a clinic there in February 2021 to get vaccinated against COVID-19, sharing the stage then with the church’s trusted pastor, Archbishop Leroy Bailey Jr., who vouched for the vaccine. Bailey, now semi-retired at age 80 as pastor emeritus, welcomed the Lamonts into the office suite he shares with his son, the current senior pastor, the Rev. Michael David Bailey. The archbishop would escort the governor and first lady to their seats with him in the front row of the sanctuary. Gov. Ned Lamont greeting congregants at Rehobeth Church of God in Bloomfield on Sunday. Credit: mark pazniokas / ctmirror His message at First Cathedral and then at the nearby Rehobeth Church of God, where the congregation is dominated with immigrants and descendants of immigrants from the West Indies, focused less on the primary than on what Lamont called the unsettled state politics created by the Trump administration. At Rehobeth, where he witnessed two christenings before Bishop Jonathan Ramsey invited him to speak, Lamont congratulated the two families. “Two things in life that get you through: God and family,” Lamont said. The congregation applauded. “Really proud to have my wife Annie here, the first lady. Wouldn’t be anywhere without her,” he said, pausing for more applause. “I’ll just say that there’s some storm clouds out there. I know everybody’s anxiety, but we’re here in this amazing Rehobeth Church, because we know that with God, all things are possible. With God, all things are possible.” “Now I want to say one last thing. There’s one thing that really particularly hurts me coming out of the White House. There’s a certain sense that we’re not all God’s children. We seem to be saying we don’t all belong. I want you to know here in Connecticut, in my heart, we all belong.” Gov. Ned Lamont speaks with New Britain resident Adrienne Benjamin about the Profound Autism Alliance during a Get Out The Vote Rally in New Britain on Sunday, August 9, 2026. Credit: Sarah Gordon / CT Mirror U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam delivered testimonials on behalf of Lamont at the rally in Hartford’s North End. U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes of the 5th District did the same in New Britain.  Last weekend, Lamont emphasized expressions of support from 10 members of the General Assembly’s Black and Puerto Rican Caucus. One of them, Rep. Toni Walker of New Haven, was featured in an attack ad. Elliott said there was no special strategy in attending two Ecuadorian events on Sunday. “That’s what was happening today,” he said. He skipped a plan to work the crowd at a street festival in New Haven outside City Hall, the early voting polling place. He said he had campaigned at a Puerto Rican festival in the city earlier in the weekend. He was running late, and he and his girlfriend, Jenn Lepore, had tickets for Bargatze at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford. Josh Elliott arrives with his girlfriend, Jenn Lepore, for a comedy show in Hartford on Sunday. Credit: mark pazniokas / ctmirror.org He agreed to meet a reporter on his way to the venue to talk about his day and the decision to take in a comedy show.  “The work’s important, being seen, talking to people,” Elliott said. But he added, “I’m not changing the result by how much I do on a Sunday before the election.” Once he qualified for his $3.75 million public financing grant, his ads went on the air, and he could increase staffing. “We have a full team. We hit about 4,000 doors yesterday,” he said. “I think we probably hit about 5,000 today.” The Bargatze tickets were purchased months ago. Is he a fan of the comedian who generally stays away from politics? “I’m a fan of comedy.” ...read more read less