After defecting from the Republican Party three years ago, Aundré Bumgardner of Groton is now a Democratic delegate for the 2nd Congressional District at the party’s national convention this week.

Bumgardner, a Groton town councilor, said Sunday his new position as a national delegate represents his coming “full circle” politically.

In 2014, as a 20-year-old Republican, he was elected to the General Assembly as state representative from the 41st District. He crossed the political aisle in 2017 following President Donald Trump’s comments about Charlottesville, Va., in which he said “there is blame on both sides” for the violence there after Heather Heyer was killed by a neo-Nazi while she was protesting against a white supremacist rally.

 “There was very little action or words used by fellow Republicans to condemn the language Donald Trump used, calling some of the folks who were antagonizing protesters in Charlottesville ‘very fine people,’” Bumgardner said. “One person used their motor vehicle as a weapon against human beings, and (Trump) referred to those individuals as being fine people. That is reprehensible. That is not the country I want to live in, where the leader of our nation refers to bigots as ‘fine people,’ and I’ll be damned if I’m part of a party that turns their back to that and remains silent over it.”

Bumgardner has made a relatively seamless transition to the Democratic Party in his young political career. After losing his bid for a second term in 2016 to current Democratic Rep. Joe De La Cruz, D-Groton, he took a job as de la Cruz’s campaign treasurer. In 2018, Bumgardner was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Groton Town Council and then won another term.

This year's convention, which was supposed to be in Milwaukee, will be vastly different than in previous years, as it's the first virtual convention in party history. Bumgardner, who is of Puerto Rican, Panamanian and African American descent, will be tuning in to the proceedings from home. He said he's looking forward to online caucuses and meeting fellow Democrats throughout the country.

"I'm unique in that I check a lot of different boxes: I'm a young person, I'm a person of color, so I've actually signed up to participate in a couple caucus discussions," Bumgardner said. "There's a Hispanic caucus, a young persons' caucus, a Black persons' caucus, and I identify with all of those groups."

During these forums, Bumgardner said he hopes to learn how best to advocate for progressive policies locally.

It's also Bumgardner's responsibility to cast his ballot for the Biden-Harris ticket and the Democratic Party platform, which he has already done. He said he supported the platform in full while acknowledging its perceived progressive shortcomings.

"Many are frustrated that the party platform this year did not specifically call out key progressive policies such as full-throated endorsements for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, legalizing marijuana — those are all policies I personally stand for," Bumgardner said. "But this is the most progressive platform this country has seen from any major party."

Bumgardner is especially pleased with Biden's selection of California Sen. Kamala Harris as his running mate. Bumgardner backed Harris in her early campaign for president, and he identifies with California's former attorney general both personally and politically.

"I was so excited to see her jump into the fold," Bumgardner said of Harris. "I myself am biracial and understand what it's like to live between two worlds, and in some cases, three, four or five. The way she has navigated life, the perseverance she's shown, the dedication she's shown to people, is quite compelling."

Harris' liberal bona fides have been questioned due to her past as a prosecutor, just as Bumgardner has had to answer questions about the sincerity of his politics since joining the Democratic Party.

He argued that Harris leans further left than she's given credit for, saying that he hoped she could push Biden to favor legislation such as Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, two policies she subscribes to and Biden doesn't.

For concerned leftists, Bumgardner had a message.

"Join me and other like-minded progressives in ensuring that once this Democratic team does get elected, they follow through on not just what they've committed to, but that we push them to the left on policies that are important to the overwhelming majority of the Democratic voter base," Bumgardner said.

While Bumgardner spoke of his admiration for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, someone who has championed progressive values for decades, he feels, in general, that 2020's presidential election is explicitly a mission to remove Trump from office, and that Biden and Harris are the candidates to do it.

"I think this election is about putting our best foot forward to defeat the worst president in the history of our nation," Bumgardner said. "Not by breaking or bending the rules, but by turning out more voters than any other political movement before. It will take a movement to beat Trump."

On Thursday, Bumgardner and the rest of the convention delegates, as well as the state's U.S. senators, U.S. congressional delegation, Gov. Ned Lamont and others, will be meeting at Dunkin' Donuts Park in Hartford to witness Biden assume the nomination. It will be a socially distanced affair.

Although Bumgardner is disappointed this year's convention will not be in person, he's "appreciative" and "humbled" by the opportunity to be a delegate.

"As a 26-year-old, I've been very blessed to be put in these positions by the people of Groton to have a seat at the table and be part of history," Bumgardner said. "Biden conducted himself gracefully throughout this race. He's shown that humility still matters. I was very proud to endorse him as our Democratic nominee and to cast my vote for him virtually."

State party delegates vote to decide on whom to send as their national representatives to the convention. All of this year's 2nd Congressional District pledged delegates are for Biden, as Sanders did not reach the threshold of votes necessary for representation. The Democratic National Convention runs Monday through Thursday.

s.spinella@theday.com