The primary enjoyed unusually extensive coverage due to the participation of Joseph P. Ganim, a former mayor of the city and convicted felon.

Joe Ganim had been mayor of Bridgeport from 1991 until 2003, when he was convicted of a number of corruption-related charges and sentenced to nine years in prison.

Even so, Ganim made repentance a major theme of his candidacy, and he used his law enforcement endorsements to reassure voters that he had reformed.

[7] Finch was also endorsed by Dan Malloy,[10] the current governor of Connecticut, former mayors of Bridgeport John Fabrizi, Tom Bucci and Leonard Paoletta,[14] senators Dick Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and congressman Jim Himes.

[9] After his loss in the primary, Bill Finch attempted to run as the nominee of the Jobs Creation Party, a vehicle that was "widely seen" to have been created for him in case of a loss in the Democratic primary, but was unable to do so due to a nomination deadline set by state law.