PROUDLY SERVING THE 16TH DISTRICT
State Senator Rob Sampson
Senior Deputy Republican Leader
Rob Sampson, re-elected to a fourth term in 2024, represents Connecticut’s 16th District. He is the Ranking Member on the Government Administration & Elections Committee, the Housing Committee, and the Labor & Public Employees Committee. Rob is widely known as an advocate for America’s core principles, restoring our system of limited, representative, constitutional government, protecting private contracts and defending the natural rights of his constituents.
“I am honored to be chosen by the people of the 16th District as their voice at the State Capitol. I remain committed to defending our American principles of freedom, representation, limited constitutional self-government, and the rule of law. I believe that with hard work and our collective voices, Connecticut can become a safer and more affordable state with a bright future for all. As always, I will put in the hard work to make it happen.”
LATEST COLUMN
'Your Vote Belongs to You' (September 2026)
There are few things more personal than your vote.
It belongs to you, not to a political party, a campaign operative, a government bureaucrat, or someone standing in your living room telling you what to do with your ballot.
I’m proud to stand here today with my friend, Senator Ryan Fazio, and I’m excited to see him taking on this issue as the next governor of Connecticut.
I’ve spent 16 years in the legislature watching the Democratic majority respond to Connecticut’s economic problems with one Band-Aid after another.
They raise taxes, increase regulations, drive up the cost of doing business, and then turn around and offer special tax breaks to a chosen few to overcome the very problems their policies created.
That’s exactly what happened with the data center bill in 2021.
I stood on the Senate floor then and opposed it because corporate welfare is fundamentally bad policy. Government should not be picking winners and losers.
And here’s the part that often gets missed: those tax breaks aren’t free. When government gives one favored industry a special deal, everybody who doesn’t get that deal has to shoulder more of the burden. That makes it even harder for families and every other business in Connecticut to thrive.
The answer isn’t more special deals. It’s creating a Connecticut where we lower the burden for everyone.
That’s the direction Ryan is talking about, it’s the direction I’ve been fighting for throughout my time in the legislature, and I’m proud to stand with him today.
Proud to be named an Affordability Champion by CBIA after earning a 100% score on their 2026 State Senate Voting Record!
Connecticut families and businesses are being squeezed by high taxes, rising energy bills, and an ever-growing cost of living. I’ve consistently fought for policies that lower costs, strengthen our economy, and make Connecticut a place where people can afford to live, work, and build a future.
Affordability isn’t just a talking point. It’s reflected in how I vote.
Read more about CBIA’s 2026 voting records and Affordability Champions: www.cbia.com/resources/issues-policies/2026-state-senate-voting-records/
‘Sen. Sampson: Connecticut Gave an Illegal Immigrant a Driver’s License. Now an Innocent American Is Dead. Gov. Lamont Owes Answers.’
Hartford— State Sen. Rob Sampson (R-16) is calling on Gov. Ned Lamont to answer for Connecticut’s “drive-only” license policy after a man identified by U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) as an illegal alien with a Connecticut-issued driver’s license was charged with vehicular homicide following a crash that killed 29-year-old Ohio resident Austin J. Karr Grimes.
Sen. Moreno sent a formal letter to Gov. Lamont this week demanding an apology and answers about a Connecticut policy that has resulted in nearly 60,700 licenses being issued to individuals without legal immigration status.
Sen. Moreno is demanding that the governor explain how many have been issued, how many recipients have committed crimes, whether any have registered to vote or voted, and what the program has cost taxpayers.
Sen. Sampson issued the following statement:
“An innocent 29-year-old American is dead. The man charged with killing him was reportedly in this country illegally, yet the State of Connecticut gave him a driver’s license.
That should trouble every Connecticut resident.
We have laws for a reason. Citizenship matters. Legal status matters. The distinction between someone who followed our laws to become part of this country and someone who is here illegally matters.
Yet for years, Connecticut Democrats have steadily worked to erase those distinctions.
Nearly 61,000 drive-only licenses have been issued. Then, rather than recognizing the obvious problems created by that policy, Democrats sought to remove the ‘drive-only’ designation that distinguished these licenses from others.
I have opposed Connecticut’s drive-only license program since the day it was first proposed, debating against it repeatedly and introducing legislation year after year to repeal it. I have likewise been one of the legislature’s strongest and most consistent opponents of the Trust Act and Connecticut’s broader sanctuary-state policies.
I have warned repeatedly that there are real consequences when government deliberately weakens the distinction between legal and illegal status and restricts cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
And just weeks ago, I raised another case directly with Gov. Lamont’s administration after obtaining an official Connecticut State Police report from an August 2 crash on I-95 in New Haven.
In that case, State Police documented a driver who had entered the country illegally operating an uninsured vehicle with a suspended Connecticut driver’s license when she lost control and crashed into a concrete barrier. Two relatives subsequently arrived in separate vehicles and were also identified as having entered the country illegally. One had no driver’s license. The other had no license, no valid registration or insurance, a misused license plate, and an existing removal order.
I formally asked the Lamont administration whether federal immigration authorities were notified, whether Connecticut law or policy restricted cooperation with ICE, and how those policies served public safety. Weeks later, I am still waiting for answers.
That is particularly troubling to me because I have spent more than a decade fighting for stronger election safeguards in Connecticut. Our state does not require photo identification to vote in the traditional sense. Someone without acceptable identification can generally sign an affidavit instead. We have weak verification procedures, persistent concerns about the accuracy of voter rolls, and a majority party that has repeatedly rejected commonsense safeguards I have proposed.
Now Connecticut has issued tens of thousands of licenses to people who are not citizens, while simultaneously making those documents less distinguishable.
Asking whether any of those individuals registered to vote or cast a ballot is not an accusation. It is a question government should already be capable of answering.
Gov. Lamont should answer U.S. Senator Moreno’s questions completely and publicly.
How many people without legal status have received these licenses? How many have subsequently been charged with crimes? How much has this policy cost Connecticut taxpayers? Have any recipients registered to vote or voted in an American election?
Those are not radical questions. They are basic questions of government accountability.
Gov. Lamont should also explain Connecticut’s role to Austin Grimes’ family and offer the apology U.S. Senator Moreno has demanded.
Our government exists first and foremost to protect the rights and safety of its citizens and to uphold the law.
An American family has now suffered an irreversible loss. We cannot undo that tragedy, but we can stop pretending there are no consequences to policies that deliberately blur the line between legal and illegal.
End the policy. Demand accountability. Protect the integrity of our elections. And start putting American citizens first.”
Article link: www.ctsenaterepublicans.com/2026/09/sen-sampson-connecticut-gave-an-illegal-immigrant-a-drivers-l...
PHOTOS BELOW: Letter from U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) to Gov. Ned Lamont regarding Connecticut’s “drive-only” license policy and the death of 29-year-old Ohioan Austin J. Karr Grimes.