Robert Sampson (politician)

Sampson, a real estate and insurance agent,^[1][2] was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing the 80th State House District in 2010, and served four terms in the House.^[3] The 80th district at the time covered all of Wolcott and part of Southington.^[1] Sampson won the next races in 2012 and 2014. There was no opposition candidate in 2016.

Sampson was elected to the state Senate in 2018 from the 16th district. He won reelection in 2022.

He currently serves as the Ranking Republican on the Government Administration & Elections,^[4] Housing,^[5] and the Labor & Public Employees^[6] Committees. He is also a member of the Judiciary^[7] Committee.

Sampson supported the Supreme Court's decisions in Harris v. Quinn, which limited the power of labor unions to collect agency fees.^[8] He opposed the New Britain to Hartford Busway.^[9]

Sampson is a staunch opponent of gun control.^[3] In 2013, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, he voted against a bipartisan gun control bill; in 2015, he introduced a failed measure to repeal the law.^[3] In 2019, Sampson and fellow John Kissel were the only senators to vote against "Ethan's Law," a safe storage law requiring gun owners to safely store firearms (whether loaded or unloaded) while not in use; the bill passed 31–2.^[10][11] Sampson has received awards from the Connecticut Citizens Defense League^[12] and NRA Institute for Legislative Action.^[13]

In 2013, Sampson was one of two state lawmakers who voted against a measure requiring officials to consider the necessity of mitigation for when making water treatment facility funding decisions. Regarding climate change, Sampson said he was opposed to a state mandate.^[3]

In 2017, Sampson was one of three Republicans in the Connecticut General Assembly who introduced legislation to reinstate capital punishment in Connecticut.^[14]

In 2011, Sampson voted against the confirmation of Connecticut Appellate Court Judge Lubbie Harper Jr. to the Connecticut Supreme Court. In March 2019, after Harper retired from the state supreme court, Sampson was the lone dissenter against Harper's confirmation to serve as a part-time trial referee; Sampson objected to Harper's vote in Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health (2008), in which Harper joined the majority in holding that the state constitution gave same-sex couples the right to marry. Harper was confirmed 33–1.^[3] In 2019, Sampson was one of eight state representatives to vote against legislation banning conversion therapy; Sampson viewed the ban as a violation of parental rights.^[15]

In 2019, Sampson was one of three state Senators who voted against a tobacco control bill raising the legal age to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products from age 18 to age 21.^[16]

In 2019, Sampson was one of two state Senators who voted against a bill banning the practice of pet leasing in Connecticut.^[17]

In 2023, Sampson was the lone "no" vote in the state Senate opposing a resolution exonerating the victims of the 17th-century Connecticut Witch Trials, in which eleven residents of Connecticut Colony were executed for witchcraft. The resolution, which passed 33–1, acknowledged the miscarriage of justice and apologized on behalf of the state. Sampson said he opposed the bill because the state had no "right to dictate what was right or wrong about periods in the past that we have no knowledge of".^[18]

In 2023, Sampson, along with other Connecticut Republicans, opposed legislation to expand the state's paid sick leave law to provide up to one week of paid sick leave annually for almost all Connecticut workers.^[19] He also opposed S.B. 152 'An Act Concerning the Protection of Warehouse Workers', which, among other provisions, was intended to prohibit "employers from requiring employees to meet quotas that interfere with meal periods, bathroom breaks, or compliance with safety regulations."^[20]

In the 2024 Housing Committee session Sampson, a landlord himself, was a vocal opponent of a bill that would have prohibited landlords from evicting tenants at the end of a lease term without a permissible cause (enumerated in the bill). Fielding an organizer's question whether he believed there was a power imbalance between landlords and tenants, he responded, "Yes, and generally speaking it's in favor of the tenant ..." drawing laughter from the audience. He later said that passing the bill would amount to "slavery" for the landlords.^[21]

In 2024, Sampson was featured in an episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The show featured a clip of Sampson arguing against S.B. 1114 'An Act Concerning a Study to Prohibit Private Equity Ownership in Hospice Care'. Sampson stated in his oral opposition on the State Senate floor on May 4, 2023: "This is America. This is a free market country. This is a capitalist country. This is not a socialist country, and it will not be if I can help it."^[22]

In the 2025 session of the Government Administration and Elections Committee, a bill was proposed to condemn the 1638 Treaty of Hartford which directed that the Pequots who survived the Pequot War be sold into slavery and their lands taken be condemned. Despite the historical testimony submitted in support, Sampson told the tribal vice chair that he did not know enough about 1638 to take sides. Then he asked given that the matter took place before the United States became a nation: "I’m curious why you feel it’s necessary for an entirely different country, the United States of America, to address this issue. Have you brought this concern across the pond, you know, to England? ... And I’m just curious why it’s important for Connecticut to address it.”^[23]

In a 2025 interview, amid discussion of whether he would run for the governorship, Sampson described his view of Connecticut politics: "My view on politics in Connecticut right now is we’re at war. ... We’ve been operating as if it's peacetime for too long as Connecticut Republicans."^[24]

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