United States

Crocodile Club Dinner Leads to Political Jokes

The 137th edition of the Crocodile Club of Connecticut brought together a handful of candidates running for statewide office and with it, a number of jokes in the heat of the political season.

Jennifer Nye, the Republican running against John Larson in the First Congressional District poked fun at herself, saying, “you’ve probably never heard of me.”

She also took some playful digs at Larson, one of Connecticut’s longest-serving politicians.

"I've heard great stories about John's very funny speech at the first Crocodile Club meeting in 1875. Boy, time flies when you have Democratic incumbents in Connecticut."

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski made his first Crocodile Club appearance, and it turned into the unofficial start of his general election campaign. It was his first public event since clinching the GOP nomination on Aug. 14.

He joked how his daughters are tired of seeing their dad on television.

"My youngest daughter said, you know you actually remind me of a turtle,” he said to laughs. And his oldest daughter, "She started fast forwarding through it. I said, 'Lauren, that's me.' and she said I am so tired of hearing about you dad I don't want to hear about you ever again.”

Democratic candidate for governor, Ned Lamont, did not attend the annual dinner.

US Senator Chris Murphy was also not in attendance. John Larson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal were each in Washington to pay their respects to the late Sen. John McCain at the US Capitol.

The dinner is an annual and, especially, an election year tradition. Its home has been the ballroom at Lake Compounce Amusement Park. It was held there this year, and NBC Connecticut Political Reporter Max Reiss served as the President of the Crocodile Club, emceeing the event.

Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman heaped praise on the group running for statewide office, saying that’s what both Connecticut and the United States are all about, participating in the process.

However, she also warned them of the difficulty of living in the public eye.

"I just wanted to congratulate or give my condolences to all of you that are running."

Contact Us