We had highlighted several key toss up races in CT. Republicans generally improved on their showings from 2017. Here are some of the key races that we had written about.
In Fairfield, CT, Republican State Representative Brenda Kupchick defeated the incumbent Democratic first selectman Mike Tetreau in a significant upset. Tetreau was a four term incumbent in a town that has more registered Democrats than Republicans and voted by a margin of 57% to 38% for Clinton in 2016. Yet, Kupchick defied the odds and unseated Tetreau. Tetreau was hurt by the loss of General Electric as well as a scandal about dumping near a local school. Still, the Republican win in Fairfield is noteworthy and highlights that the Republicans can win in suburban Connecticut.
In Derby, CT the Republican incumbent mayor Richard Dziekian appears to have defeated his Democratic challenger Brian Coppola by a margin of only 38 votes (1446 to 1408). Derby registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2681 Democrats to 1189 Republicans. Historically Derby has voted Democratic. That said, it flipped in 2016 to support Trump and now Republicans have held the mayor position for two consecutive terms. In short, this is a formerly Democratic stronghold that seems to be moving into the Republican column.
The two other races that we highlighted were the mayoral races in Bridgeport and New Haven. In Bridgeport, Mayor Joe Ganim (D) easily won re-election beating both his token Republican opponent and fellow Democrat Marilyn Moore who mounted a write in campaign. Likewise, in New Haven, Democrat Justin Elicker comfortably defeated incumbent Democrat Toni Harp who ran on the Working Families Party ticket.
All in all, it seems that Republicans beat expectations in Connecticut in 2019, with notable wins in Greenwich, Fairfield and Derby. We will have more commentary tomorrow night as we get more official election results and have a deeper look at turnout statistics!
NewEnglandPolitics.com 