WEST HAVEN, Conn. — It’s the day after election night with both political parties spinning the narrative. Both parties had their wins and losses, but one party had the edge both in and out of Connecticut.
“Very excited about last night. We flipped 19 towns,” said Ben Proto, the Chair of the Connecticut Republican Party.
Meanwhile, Nancy DiNardo, the Chair of the Connecticut Democratic Party, said, “I was disappointed in some of the races.”
Republicans won the night. They retook the mayor's seat in Bristol and held onto Danbury.
But Democrats had their victories too. Caroline Simmons won a close race in Stamford.
“I think the Democrats are in trouble in Stamford. Caroline should have run away with that race and she didn’t,” remarked Proto.
But DiNardo saw it differently. “She was running against someone who is a celebrity...Bottom line is she won.”
In West Haven, the mayoral race still has not been called. Democrat incumbent Mayor Nancy Rossi is claiming victory by just 24 votes, but Republican Barry Lee Cohen is not conceding. The race will go to automatic recount this weekend.
Nationally, we saw a similar story play out with Republicans winning the gubernatorial race in Virginia and keeping it close in New Jersey. Looking ahead to 2022, is it a warning signal for Gov. Lamont?
“Governor Lamont has done a great job in Connecticut," said DiNardo. "He’s kept taxes down and people like him. And I haven’t seen any Republican who would be able to challenge him.”
But the Republicans tell FOX61 they have several stars waiting to be born, including newly re-elected New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart and a few other familiar names.
“Erin is definitely one of them,” said Proto. “I think you are going to see folks like Bob Stefanowski and Themis Klarides out there. They have great stories to tell.”
In Guilford, Republicans who ran in opposition to Critical Race Theory were rejected.
“I definitely think that’s the wrong issue to be running on,” said DiNardo.
While Proto said, “I think Guilford was a one-off to some extent.”
Republicans told FOX61 that Connecticut is up for grabs.
“Connecticut is not a blue state. I would tell you Connecticut is a purple state and it’s getting lighter purple as we go along.” DiNardo said, “We will be looking at all the different places and doing a debriefing on what we need to do differently.”
Both the parties told FOX61 their work is far from over, and they understand that elections are just a snapshot of a moment in time.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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