Good morning and welcome back to the Tip Sheet, a weekly newsletter from Tom Dudchik’s Capitol Report written by Mike Cerulli.

This week, John Larson is out with his first digital ad of the cycle. Tip Sheet readers will see it first.

Plus, Chris Murphy’s organizing machine played a big role in this weekend’s “No Kings” protests across Connecticut. Those efforts could be a preview of Murphy's presence in next year's elections.

Let’s dive in…

Larson goes live with first digital spot

With a few cameos and a focus on his roots, Congressman John Larson released his first digital ad of the 2026 cycle.

The spot is titled “Bocce” and the Larson campaign says they’re running it across social media platforms. As the title implies, the centerpiece of the ad is Larson’s annual bocce tournament – an event which has historically drawn some of the most powerful Democrats in the nation to East Hartford.

The ad runs about three minutes. That’s longer, perhaps, than most YouTube viewers will stick around after they have the ability to skip past it, but the messaging is clear in the first fifteen seconds.

The opening shots feature a dressed-down Larson clad in a blue polo shirt, sunglasses on and a beer in his hand. Quick cuts between a smiling Larson and bocce balls rolling down the court give the video a sense of energy buoyed by upbeat music.

“I was down the beach one summer and I heard these guys talking and they saw me and they go, ‘Hey you, you know how to play bocce?.’” Larson says directly to camera.

From there, the origins of Larson’s love of the Italian lawn game give way to an origin story of the man himself.

“We grew up in a federal housing project, a place called Mayberry Village,” Larson, who proudly refers to himself as a “project kid,” says.

“We never thought of ourselves as poor,” Larson explains. “We were rich in terms of the example our parents provided us with.”

Testimonials from family and friends – including Congressman Joe Courtney and former secretary of the state Denise Merrill – are interspersed with shots of Larson working the crowd at his signature gathering.

“He’s got a real talent in terms of bringing people together,” Courtney says.

On the whole, the ad can be viewed as a sort of thesis statement for Larson’s re-election campaign. The style of the video is energetic and it portrays Larson as a jovial statesman who is eager to embrace his long history in public office. Black and white photos trace his path in public life from Mayberry to the halls of Congress.

“We’re in a fight,” Larson says in a clip pulled from his formal campaign kickoff speech. “You know it and I know it.”

Indeed, Larson finds himself in two parallel fights. One is in Washington with President Trump and his administration. The other is in Connecticut. In that fight, Larson is battling for his political future against a field of Democrats who are all trying to force him into an involuntary retirement.

While the 77-year old Larson never directly mentions any of his four younger challengers in the ad, the subtext is clear. One testimonial described him as energetic and Merrill called him “one of the most effective legislators I know.”

Connor Martin, the millennial mayor of East Hartford, makes an appearance to tout Larson as “a fighter.”

West of the river, as the Larson team readied their ad, the congressman’s most prominent challenger fired a volley in the pages of the New York Times.

In an interview for an article titled “The Democratic Age Wars Begin,” Luke Bronin delivered the critique that has been at the center of his campaign against Larson. The Times noted the medical episode that Larson suffered on the floor of the House earlier this year.

“There is a deep feeling in the Democrat party that we have to renew our party and just get a whole different level of energy and forcefulness and focus,” Bronin said. “This has got to be moment when we’re willing to look ourselves in the mirror and make some big changes.”

The “project kid” obviously disagrees that those big changes require his departure from the political scene.

Larson’s ad ends with an off-camera voice asking Larson if he needs a glass of water.

“Need a martini,” Larson replies.

To watch the ad, click here.

Murphy brings organizing muscle to “No Kings” protests

Chris Murphy might not be on the ballot next year, but Connecticut’s junior senator is still keeping his organizing machine active across the state.

Fight Back CT, the Murphy-led group that began as a coordinated campaign effort in 2017, sent out more than a quarter million texts this weekend to boost turnout to Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies in Connecticut.

Murphy himself spoke at the “No Kings” rally in the nation’s capital.

A campaign aide who spoke to the Tip Sheet about the Fight Back CT text blast said the group would be active in the upcoming election. After Saturday’s rallies, follow up messages were sent to each of the 259,000 recipients urging them to get involved with their local Democratic Town Committee.

That’s all for this week. We’ll be back next week with another edition of the Tip Sheet!