A mix of incumbents and newcomers won their primaries for the state and federal Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday night in Fairfield County.
Gaston wins in the 23rd Senate District
State Senator Herron Gaston won more than 70% of the vote against former State Senator Ernie Newton in the 23rd Senate District’s Democratic primary, according to unofficial vote totals from the Secretary of the State’s office.
Gaston received 1,820 votes to Newton’s 720.
The district encompasses parts of Bridgeport and Stratford.
Newton, who was sentenced to prison for federal corruption charges from his time in the state Senate in the early 2000s, had to collect signatures to make it onto Tuesday’s ballot.
In an interview with WSHU, Newton claimed that Gaston is a new kid on the block and not a team player.
“People want work horses, not show horses,” Newton said. “And I’m a workhorse. And people say Ernie, we need you back in Hartford.”
But Gaston, a pastor and former aide to Mayor Joe Ganim, had predicted that voters would support him because they want someone who stands for ‘integrity, decency, and honesty.”
Gadkar-Wilcox emerges victorious from four-candidate primary
Bridgeport, Trumbull and Monroe voters have chosen Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox as their candidate for state Senate. She will face Republican political newcomer Chris Carrena, who ran unopposed, in November.
Gadkar-Wilcox is a professor at Quinnipiac who lives in Trumbull. The seat was held by former Senator Marilyn Moore (D) of Bridgeport for 10 years.
After a debate earlier this month, Gadkar-Wilcox told WSHU that it was important that a woman be elected to replace outgoing Senator Marilyn Moore.
“Half the population in the state of Connecticut consists of women,” Gadkar-Wilcox said. “And in our state Senate, now, it's only a third [female]. It's really important, especially now, because there are critical issues that are coming up when it comes to women's reproductive rights that need to be addressed. We need women representing those issues, and as a constitutional scholar, we need constitutional reforms.”
Gadkar-Wilcox (1,750 votes) was one of four candidates for the Democratic nomination. Others include former Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch (1,180), former Bridgeport City Councilman Tyler Mack (730), and Bridgeport City Councilman Scott Burns (590). Moore had endorsed Mack.
Baker-Martinez race still too close to call
A winner is yet to be declared in the Bridgeport State Representative race between incumbent Andre Baker and city councilwoman Eneida Martinez.
Unofficial vote totals have Baker ahead of Martinez by 28 votes. Just under 1,000 ballots were cast in the race.
Baker has represented the 124th District in the east end since 2015.
Martinez beat him for the Democratic endorsement earlier this year. She had the support of Mayor Joe Ganim and Democratic Town Committee chair Mario Testa.
Martinez was one of the campaign operatives caught bringing handfuls of ballots to the absentee box in September. Last week, the State Elections Enforcement Commission also launched an investigation into campaign donations she received.
Figeroa loses primary hours after antisemitic remarks surface
The Stamford House member who made antisemitic remarks about her opponent in the Democratic primary has lost the race.
Jonathan Jacobson is now the Democratic candidate for the 148th state House District seat. Jacobson won over incumbent Anabel Figueroa. Official results reported Jacobson with 600 votes and Figueroa with 358.
A video of Figueroa making antisemitic comments about her opponent circulated online. Figueroa released a statement apologizing for the comment, saying she “misspoke.” The Stamford Democratic City Committee called for Figueroa to resign.
Figueroa initially gained the state House seat in a special election last year. She was the first Latina to represent the 148th District.
Both federal GOP primaries yield close results
Both the race to run against U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D) and U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D) were close.
Matthew Corey received around 19,250 votes to defeat Gerry Smith with just over 16,000 votes as the Republican Senate candidate.
Michael Goldstein received 4,300 votes to beat Bob MacGuffie’s 3,700 votes in the House GOP primary.
There were no federal Democratic primaries in Connecticut on Tuesday.
