The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Bysiewicz beats Bermudez Zimmerman, Markley wins
The party-endorsed candidates for lieutenant governor were far ahead late on Tuesday night, with Democrat Susan Bysiewicz and Republican Joe Markley, a conservative state senator from Southington, accepting victories.
“I’m just ecstatic,” said Bysiewicz, who captured more than 63 percent of the primary vote after teaming up with Ned Lamont after the Democratic convention in May. But that didn’t prevent a challenge by 31-year-old union organizer Eva Bermudez Zimmerman. “I want to acknowledge my opponent,” said Bysiewicz, a former secretary of the state. “She clearly has a bright future in whatever she decides to do next.”
By 10 p.m. Bermudez Zimmerman conceded.
Supporters yelled “Eva Eva Eva” as she took the stage set up outside her Meriden headquarters, and Zimmerman said she saw a few sad faces.
"But I want to say, turn that frown upside down. Why? We got into this race together,” she aid. “We got into this race with the vision that we are going to change things and shake it up. Because we are not about the status quo. We are about making sure working-class values are represented, that we have a future that is brighter for everyone. And we did that. We got into this race expecting more out of candidates and reminding them that ... if they are going to trust us for their vote , then they have to do better by us.”
Bysiewicz, 56, who has previously run for governor, attorney general and the U.S. Senate, often reminded people on the campaign trail that the lieutenant governor is “one breath away” from the governor’s office, and emphasized her experience as secretary of the State, a state representative and an attorney who worked with small businesses.
Bermudez Zimmerman, 31, entered the race just days ahead of the party convention, picked up significant support there. She has worked as a organizer for the Service Employees International Union.
In Connecticut, the lieutenant governor’s race is independent of the governor’s race up until the primary. After the party’s candidates are nominated, the governor and lieutenant governor run together on a ticket.
GOP contest
With 57 percent of the vote counted, the 61-yearold
Markley had 48 percent of the vote, well ahead of his opponents.
A state senator since 2010, Markley is best known for his far-right conservatism, as well as a sharp sense of humor and a knowledge of history.
Markley spent the entire primary day at polling places in Oxford, though he feels his campaign picked up support across the state.
“I don’t believe in driving around,” Markley said. “You don’t meet people
while you’re driving around. I figure you might as well stay at a good polling place and meet as many people as possible.”
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, 31, whose road to the primary was the bumpiest of any candidate, was forced to start over when she dropped out of the governor’s race on the eve of the state Republican convention.
She took her fundraising down to the wire, earning the state’s Citizens Elections grant at the last minute.
Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, 56, positioned herself as the middle ground between Markley’s conservatism and Stewart’s youth.
Though she spent much of the last month campaigning in eastern Connecticut, Stevenson spent Tuesday traveling around Fairfield County where she garnered significant Republican support throughout her campaign.