Connecticut Democrats denied Rep. John Larson a place on the November ballot, removing from the race a senior House voice on Social Security just as lawmakers are heading toward a projected 2032 funding shortfall for the program. Former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin won the primary in Connecticut's 1st Congressional District with about 54% of the vote, versus 33% for Larson, based on 99% of votes counted by MS NOW, and will face Republican candidate Amy Chai in the general election. Larson, the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Security and a longtime backer of expanding benefits, has pushed the Social Security 2100 Act, a proposal that would increase benefits and extend solvency by lifting taxes on higher earners and investment income. The bill, reintroduced on June 26, would provide some benefit increases through 2036, including an across-the-board increase, a revised cost-of-living adjustment (annual inflation-linked benefit change), and a higher minimum benefit for long-term low earners. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced a Senate version on July 21. The political stakes are heightened because Social Security's trust fund for retirement benefits is projected to be depleted in the fourth quarter of 2032. At that point, 78% of scheduled benefits would be payable unless Congress acts, according to the latest trustees' projections. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said Connecticut beneficiaries could face the largest average monthly reduction, estimating a $556 cut under an assumed 24% across-the-board reduction. Bronin argued during a July 28 debate that Larson's bill failed to advance when Democrats controlled the House and said claiming it would pass in the first 100 days of the next Congress with Donald Trump in the White House was not honest with voters. He said he would be proud to protect Social Security and that reform would require a broader political movement, adding that the effort would benefit from younger champions. His campaign later said part of the solution should include lifting the payroll tax cap so higher earners contribute more. Chai said she opposes both parties' Social Security platforms and instead would keep the payroll tax cap and rate unchanged, remove the employer share of the self-employment tax, require government employees to participate in Social Security, and fund the program's obligations before foreign aid is released.