Groton and New London Republicans on Wednesday evening unanimously endorsed Ken Richards for the 41st District House seat, currently held by Joe de la Cruz, a Democrat.

The district covers the Town of Groton south of I-95, the southern half of the City of Groton and the southeastern part of New London.

"Ken is the person we need to bring common sense, fact based, rational decision making back to the 41st District," New London Republican delegate Tim Ryan said in a news release. "He understands that, as a state, we can't tax our way to prosperity and that we must instead look for efficiencies in government."

Richards, 35, currently serves as the administrator at the Westerly Ambulance Corps.

De la Cruz unanimously was re-nominated Wednesday night at the Democratic convention. He was first elected to the seat in 2016.