32nd District Senate race shaping up to be a rematch
WATERTOWN — The race for the 32nd District’s state Senate seat is shaping up to be a rematch of the 2022 election.
Jeff Desmarais announced this week he’s again seeking the Democratic nomination for the district, which spans at least parts of a dozen towns in three counties.
This is Desmarais’ third time running for the 32nd District’s seat, which has been held by Republican Eric Berthel since 2017. Berthel told Hearst Connecticut Media on Thursday that he intends to run for reelection and that he expects to make a formal announcement in the coming weeks.
The 32nd Senate District encompasses at least parts of Bethel, Bethlehem, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Middlebury, Oxford, Roxbury, Seymour, Southbury, Washington, Watertown and Woodbury.
“After careful consideration, and discussions with family and friends, I have decided to throw my hat into the ring once again,” said Desmarais, a Watertown resident who ran for the seat in 2020 and 2022.
Berthel was elected to represent the 32nd Senate District in a special election in 2017, then reelected in 2018, 2020 and 2022. The district’s map was redrawn to its current form before the 2022 election.
“I am a strong believer that participation is the foundation of our democracy,” said Berthel of his campaign for his fourth full term in office.
For his third run for the seat, Desmarais said he has prioritized improving education, better access to mental health treatment, tax reform beyond what has been accomplished to date, assessing crime in the state and the communities, affordable housing and affordable health care through a public option.
Democracy will be on the ballot in 2024, Desmarais said, along with fair elections, the rule of law, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights and civil and equal rights.
“I am running because I believe that those things matter, as do the kitchen table issues that keep you up at night,” he said.
A lifelong Connecticut resident, Desmarais is employed as a financial adviser and is the chair of the Watertown/Oakville Democratic Town Committee. He has also served on the Watertown Public Buildings Commission and the Charter Revision Commission, and served on the Watertown Town Council in 2017 and 2021.
Desmarais served in the Connecticut Army National Guard from 1997 to 2003 and was named his battalion’s Solider of the Year in 2000. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with a degree in political science in 2004.
Desmarais’ wife of 20 years, Joanna Desmarais, is employed as a registered nurse at Regional Hospice in Danbury. They have lived in Watertown for the past 17 years where they are raising their two children.
Prior to being elected to the 32nd District, Berthel served two terms representing the 68th House District in 2014 and 2016. In the 2022 election, he emphasized the need for Connecticut to be more affordable at a time when gas prices and electricity rates were rising.