Aundre Bumgardner

Aundré Bumgardner
Member of the Connecticut House of Representatives from the 41st district
In office January 2023 – Present
Preceded by	Joe de la Cruz
In office January 2015 – January 2017
Preceded by	Elissa Wright
Succeeded by	Joe de la Cruz
Personal details
Born	(1994-07-05) July 5, 1994 (age 30)[1] New London, Connecticut
Political party	Republican (before 2017) Democratic (2017-present)
Residence	Groton, Connecticut
Website	ballotpedia.org/Aundre_Bumgardner

Aundré Bumgardner (born July 5, 1994) is an American politician, a Democrat and formerly a member of the Republican party.

Family and early life

His father is African American and his mother is from Puerto Rico.^[2]

Political career

Connecticut House of Representatives

Aundré served as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, as a Republican, representing Connecticut's 41st assembly district in the General Assembly. Bumgardner was first elected in 2014 and was defeated in 2016. He was the youngest ever person elected to the House at the age of 20.^[3] Aundré was re-elected to the 41st district seat as a Democrat in 2022 defeating Republican Robert Boris in a landslide victory.^[4] His predecessor Joe de la Cruz had not sought reelection citing an inability to continue with the job for the salary offered to lawmakers.^[5]

Groton Town Council

In 2018, Bumgardner was appointed to a vacant seat on the Groton Town Council.^[6]

In 2019, Bumgardner was re-elected to the Groton Town Council.^[7]

Party switch

In 2018 Bumgardner announced that he was leaving the Republican Party after the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. He said that “It wasn’t even so much the words President Trump used, but more so the inaction coming from the Republican Party, not just at the national level, but to a certain extent the state and local level. Silence is absolute complicity.” As of 2018 he was working as the campaign treasurer for the man who unseated him, Rep. Joe de la Cruz, while completing his college education. Bumgardner is a member of the Democratic Town Committee of Groton.^[8]

References

1. "Groton RTC Campaign Kick-Off Party". Groton Republican Town Committee. 31 August 2015. Archived from the original on 27 February 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
2. "20-year-old Latino wins election as CT state representative". 19 November 2014. Archived from the original on 25 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
3. "GOP ties Democrats in state Senate, closes gap in House". 9 November 2016. Archived from the original on 14 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
4. "Ballotpedia: Aundré Bumgardner Electoral History". 23 October 2023. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
5. "Joe de la Cruz Will Not Seek Reelection". 2 February 2022. Archived from the original on 10 December 2023. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
6. "Bumgardner appointed to vacant Groton Town Council seat". theday.com. The Day. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
7. "Groton Democrats again sweep Town Council". theday.com. The Day. Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
8. Pazniokas, Mark (24 January 2018). "A rising GOP star at 20, Aundré Bumgardner defects over Trump". ctmirror.com. CT Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 January 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.