MARX AND FORMICA EARN PARTY NOMINATIONS IN BID FOR STATE SENATE SEAT

New London — The race for the 20th District Senate seat will be a repeat of a close race in 2018 that pitted incumbent Republican state Sen. Paul Formica against Democrat Martha Marx.

Both candidates earned unanimous endorsements at virtual conventions held by their respective parties last month. The 20th Senate District includes Waterford, East Lyme, Old Lyme, Bozrah, Salem, New London and parts of Montville and Old Saybrook.

Formica defeated Marx in the 2018 election with about 52% of the votes compared to Marx’s 48%. He is seeking his fourth term in office.

Marx, of New London, is a registered nurse who works for the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Connecticut, is the vice president of the AFT-CT Local 5119, chairwoman of the Democratic Town Committee in New London and a former member of the New London City Council. This will be her second attempt to unseat Formica.

“As a visiting nurse I am in homes across Southeastern CT every single day. I see how our families are struggling financially and how our health has been put into great danger,” Marx said in a statement. “This moment calls for leadership, this moment calls for us to believe in science, and most of all this moment calls for compassion. Now more than ever it is critical that scientists and (health care) professionals have a seat at the table in our government.

The Deputy Senate Republican leader, Formica serves as a ranking member of the Appropriations Committee and the Energy and Technology Committee. He co-chairs the Tourism Caucus and the Institutional and Developmental Disabilities Caucus and is a member of the Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee. He is the owner and operator of Flanders Fish Market & Restaurant and previously served as the first selectman of East Lyme.

Formica, of East Lyme, in a Facebook post said he was “humbled and honored to be unanimously endorsed.”

“In the years ahead, our district, state and nation will need every resource and every opportunity to recover from the loss of lives, jobs and security,” he said in the statement. “While we are all facing the unexpected, our communities expect the best of all of us ... serving you in the legislature in the role of servant leaders.”