Simmons, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, will meet with 23 conservative groups under the umbrella of the Connecticut Grassroots Alliance from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Express in Southington.
“Our goal is to engage with candidates, to measure our comfort level with their ideas and their character,” said Bob MacGuffie, co-founder of one of those groups, Right Principles, said in an email announcing the event. “We want time with them individually, asking our own questions, to determine if they have the strength to buck this corrupt political system.”
The gathering is one in a series of “meet and greets” with candidates over the next few months.
Each candidate will issue an opening statement, then face questioning from selected grassroots leaders. Former Southington state Sen. Joe Markley will select written questions from the audience to pose to Simmons.
“Four candidates currently seek the Republican Senate nomination, and all have support in our ranks,” said Markley. “I know no better way to assess them, and perhaps begin to unite around one of them, then to hear them each out individually.”
Adds Tanya Bachand, state organizer for the Connecticut Tea Party Patriots, “We have prepared some challenging questions for Congressman Simmons,” she said in the email. “We believe he deserves a fair hearing, a real chance to explain where he stands, and we appreciate his willingness to stand on the firing line.”