Connecticut election: Five takeaways from Tuesday

A busy and eventful election cycle in Connecticut concluded Tuesday when residents cast their votes for Governor, U.S. Senate, Congress and more.

Here are five takeaways from the results.

Democrats appear to have won across the board

As was the case nationally, Connecticut Democrats out-performed expectations Tuesday, winning handily in races where they were favored and appearing to hold off Republican opponents in ones that were expected to be close.

Though not every contest was called Tuesday night, Democrats easily won the two highest-profile races of the night (for governor and U.S. Senator) and led races for all five congressional seats, including in the fifth district, where some insiders had expected Republican George Logan to unseat Democratic incumbent Jahana Hayes.

Meanwhile, Democrats retained their comfortable control of the General Assembly and seemed poised to win every statewide office. Their control over the state appears as secure as ever.

If voters want major change, they didn’t show it Tuesday.

Four years later, Lamont increased his margin over Stefanowski

In 2018, Ned Lamont defeated Bob Stefanowski by three percentage points to become Connecticut’s governor.

Four years later, after months of Stefanowski attacks on Lamont’s record, after barbs about crime and inflation, and amid a more favorable political climate for Republicans... the governor won once again, this time by a much wider margin. As of 1:30 a.m., when about 71 percent of votes had been tallied, Lamont led Stefanowski by 10 points, even with votes outstanding in major cities.

Lamont’s victory wasn’t a surprise, as he led most public polls by double digits in the run-up to Election Day, but his fairly convincing margin speaks to his relative popularity (as reflected in approval ratings), as well as perhaps Stefanowski’s relative unpopularity.

One way or another, Stefanowski’s jabs at Lamont did not translate into electoral success. Connecticut Republicans will be back to the drawing board when they seek the governor’s mansion again four years from now.

Blumenthal’s reelection was never in doubt

The race to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Senate drew plenty of local attention in the months leading up to Election Day but ultimately provided little drama.

In the end, the Associated Press called Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s victory over Greenwich businesswoman Leora Levy only minutes after polls closed at 8 p.m. Though Blumenthal had been heavily favored to defeat the Trump endorsed Levy, Republicans hoped the race would at least be competitive. Instead, Blumenthal was leading 56-44 with two-thirds of votes counted, with the New York Times projecting his final margin would reach15 points.

On a night when Republicans threatened to take control of the Senate, Blumenthal’s decisive win showed that most Connecticut voters still want Democrats representing them in Washington — and that Levy’s arch-conservative campaign was a poor fit in a state that hasn’t elected a GOP senator since 1982.

Would a more moderate Republican, such as Themis Klarides, whom Levy defeated in a primary this summer, have had a better chance against Blumenthal? Common wisdom seems to suggest so, but we will never know for sure.

Results were once again slow to trickle in

As other states rapidly counted most or all votes Tuesday night, Connecticut’s results trickled in slowly.

Lamont’s victory was not widely called until about 11:30 p.m., not because the race was particularly close but because not enough votes had been counted to allow for a confident projection. Similarly, none of the state’s five Congressional races were called until after midnight, even as several incumbents won comfortably.

As of 2 a.m., six hours after polls closed, fewer than two-thirds of votes had been counted statewide, leaving races for secretary of the state, treasurer, comptroller, a congressional seat and numerous state legislator races uncalled.

It’s normal and often unavoidable that close races take hours or even days to decisively call. But Connecticut clearly has room to improve as far as efficient tallying.

Connecticut residents are psyched to vote early

One of the most decisive results anywhere on the ballot Tuesday came on the lone statewide ballot question, where voters overwhelmingly supported the implementation of early voting.

Currently, Connecticut is one of only a handful of states that does not allow residents to cast ballots before Election Day.

Advocates of early voting say it allows more people to participate in elections and makes life easier for those who work or otherwise can’t easily make it to the polls on an appointed Tuesday.

Connecticut voters seem to have agreed. Early voting will be coming soon.