HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut's registered Republicans have a chance to pick their candidate for U.S. Senate, State Treasurer and Secretary of the State in a primary election Tuesday. Meanwhile, registered Democrats have a chance on a handful of races.
Polls close Tuesday at 8 p.m. FOX61 will have full coverage of the results.
While there are no primary challengers for either side in the gubernatorial race, which remains as Gov. Ned Lamont against return-challenger Bob Stefanowski, other key races and seats are in play.
The race for U.S. Senate race pits former state House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, a social moderate who supports abortion rights and gun control measures, against two conservatives: attorney Peter Lumaj and Leora Levy, a GOP fundraiser and former commodities trader who received an endorsement last week from former President Donald Trump.
Voters on Tuesday are also choosing their candidates to replace longtime Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, a Democrat who resigned in June to care for her ailing husband.
In the Republican race, conservative Dominic Rapini, a sales executive for Apple and the party's endorsed candidate, faces state Rep. Terrie Wood, a Darien Republican who calls herself a “commonsense New England conservative."
The two Democratic contenders for Secretary of the State, state Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk and New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond, have pledged to oppose Republican attempts to tighten voting rules.
Thomas, who is Black, has said such restrictions hit close to home, considering her father grew up during the 1940s in Georgia and never really learned to read and her mother worked two jobs for most of her life and didn't drive. It took an hour-long bus ride and a long walk along a highway to reach the nearest department of motor vehicles branch to register to vote.
RELATED: 2022 Connecticut primary voter guide: Everything you need to know before heading to the polls
“So when Republicans make it harder to vote, it’s folks like my mom they’re targeting,” she says in a recent commercial.
Bond, a Latina, said such laws “disproportionately impact communities of color and the elderly in our state and that is exactly why it is a priority of the GOP.”
Democrats will also choose their nominee to fill the job of state Treasurer, which is being vacated by Democrat Shawn Wooden.
Erick Russell, an attorney who specializes in municipal finances, is up against Dita Bhargava, the chief operating officer of a private investment fund, and Karen Dubois-Walton who oversees New Haven’s Housing Authority.
Meanwhile, Republicans in the state's 4th Congressional District will choose between the party-endorsed candidate, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson and Michael Goldstein, a doctor and lawyer from Greenwich. The winner will challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes in November.
---
Have a story idea or something on your mind you want to share? We want to hear from you! Email us at newsteam@fox61.com
---
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET FOX61 NEWS
Download the FOX61 News APP
iTunes: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Stream Live on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching FOX61.
Steam Live on FIRE TV: Search ‘FOX61’ and click ‘Get’ to download.