A Republican candidate for Connecticut's state legislature has refused to back down after making a homophobic post on social media despite receiving backlash from within his own party. Jadon MacCormack is a first-time candidate running to represent northeastern Connecticut's 50th District and supplant incumbent Pat Boyd, who has been in office since 2017.
The Republican, who worked as a sessional employee of the legislature earlier this year, has a longstanding digital footprint of promoting conspiracy theories and espousing hate. On Tuesday, MacCormack shared a post on his campaign Facebook page that began: 'Happy Straight Month! It’s American to be Anti-Pride Month, this is America’s 250th Anniversary!'
He urged others to 'Take a stand like George Washington,' and said the first president of the United States approved the court-martial of Continental Army Lieutenant Frederick Gotthold Enslin for being gay during the Revolutionary War. 'As your State Representative, I, Jadon MacCormack, would stand firmly against the Transgender and LGBT movement that has for too long corrupted our families, undermined parental authority, and eroded the foundational values of our society,' the candidate wrote.
His post drew bipartisan criticism from members of Connecticut's legislature, including Republican House Minority Leader Vincent J Candelora, and even the state's governor. 'The hateful comments made repeatedly by this Republican candidate for public office are unacceptable and completely out of step with Connecticut values,' Governor Ned Lamont said in a public statement. 'Connecticut is a state that welcomes people, respects differences, and believes everyone deserves to be treated with dignity.'
Regarding MacCormack's statements, House Minority Leader Candelora said: 'They were immature and reckless, and they show a candidate who isn’t ready for the responsibility he’s asking voters to give him.' Candelora added before calling for MacCormack to drop out of the race: 'The best thing he can do for the 50th District now is to step aside.'
Republican State Senator Jeff Gordon, whose senate district covers much of the same area as the House's 50th District, likewise blasted MacCormack's comments as 'reprehensible' and said they 'have no place in our public discourse.' 'I condemn these comments in the strongest terms,' Gordon added. 'As a community, we do not condone rhetoric like this in any form.'
Boyd, the Democratic incumbent, also unsurprisingly condemned MacCormack's post. 'When a candidate crosses the line of basic human decency by judging others and plastering irrational, hateful posts about our neighbors, friends, and family across social media, it threatens the very fabric of our community,' Boyd wrote on Facebook. Like Candelora, the state representative noted that voters are more concerned with tangible issues than a culture war. 'We have incredibly serious problems to solve in Connecticut, including the rising cost of healthcare, soaring energy bills, securing sustainable funding for our public schools, and shoring up our critical public safety infrastructure,' Boyd said.
He also said he was 'encouraged' by the condemnation of MacCormack's comments on both sides of the aisle. House Speaker Matt Ritter and House Majority Leader Jason Rojas, both Democrats, released a joint statement that said: 'The CT House of Representatives includes members and staff who are members of the LGBTQ+ community, and it is sickening to think that this candidate wants to spew this kind of poison in the people’s chamber.'
In response to the backlash, MacCormack directly addressed Candelora and said: 'The House Republican Leader’s comments about me are absurd and reveal a profound lack of character.' 'There is a clear reason Connecticut is in such deep decline: too many Republicans in office have grown weak and complacent,' the candidate added. 'What the party desperately needs is the bold, principled mindset that young conservatives like myself are bringing to the fight.'
MacCormack also reposted a letter penned by Jake Dell, a conservative minister at a Congregational church in the 50th District, that said Candelora 'made a serious mistake.' The minister called Pride Month a 'public consecration of what Scripture plainly names an abomination' and said that supporting MacCormack could have delivered Connecticut's GOP 'a victory in November.'
On social media, MacCormack has previously criticized Catholics, supported a post accusing Israel of worshipping the devil and claimed that the Salem Witch Trials were morally justified. But perhaps his most egregious post was in August of 2025, when he replied to a tweet about the US Supreme Court considering overturning its landmark 2015 ruling that legalized gay marriage. MacCormack shared a gif of a swinging noose and wrote, 'The Bible has a better idea,' seemingly implying that gay people should be lynched or sentenced to death.
Candelora appeared to indirectly reference that post in his condemnation of MacCormack, as he said: 'I will not support a candidate who suggests that people should be jailed or hung based upon their sexuality.' The primary for the Connecticut House of Representatives' 50th district will take place on August 11. MacCormack appears to be running unopposed in that race, according to Ballotpedia. He would then face off against incumbent Boyd in November, who has won all five elections in the district since 2016.
