Democrats made broad gains Tuesday in 黑料吃瓜网鈥檚 first general election since Donald Trump鈥檚 return to the White House, flipping open top-of-ballot seats that had been controlled by Republicans in the Democratic cities of New Britain and Norwich and suburbs of Branford and Westport.
also showed Republican incumbents falling to Democrats in upsets in Ansonia, Bristol, Stratford and Milford, while the outcomes of other races were unresolved as votes cast in sealed envelopes during early voting were opened and counted.
In New Britain, a convincing win by Democratic state Rep. Bobby Sanchez underscored that the magic sauce of Mayor Erin Stewart, a Republican who thrived for 12 years in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans nearly 3-1, was not transferrable to her chosen successor, Sharon Beloin-Saveedra.
鈥淢any of the Democrats who voted for Erin came home,鈥� Sanchez said. He won with 58% of the vote, leading a Democratic sweep of down-ballot races for Board of Alders and city treasurer.
In Norwich, an open seat and strong turnout helped Singh Swarnjit win election as the first mayor of the Sikh faith in 黑料吃瓜网. He succeeds Republican Peter Nystrom, who had overcome a 2-1 Democratic edge in previous cycles.
Singh, a two-time city councilman, drew support from the state鈥檚 prominent Democrats, including Gov. Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong, Comptroller Sean Scanlon and Treasurer Erick Russell.
鈥淭his obviously is a key contest,鈥� said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, as he campaigned with Singh at an early afternoon campaign stop. 鈥淵ou need to have leadership like Swanjit to make sure that this thing really stays on track.鈥�
National issues intruded in the race, including an exchange in a recent debate over the pursuit of undocumented immigrants by the Trump administration. But, Singh said, his campaign ultimately succeeded because it focused on the issues that mattered to voters.
鈥淚 talked about what we need in Norwich. That鈥檚 where my campaign was,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 feel good about that.鈥�
Norwich was one of several places where Democrats used animus towards Trump and his insistence that SNAP food benefits would not be fully restored in defiance of two court orders in mailings and text messages aimed at turning out the elements of the Democratic base attuned only to presidential politics.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no doubt about it: Trump motivates Democrats to come out,鈥� said Mike Farina, a Democratic consultant. In Manchester, Democrats texted voters with a picture of Trump, a headline reporting his intent not to fund SNAP, and a simple all-caps message: 鈥淰OTE RIGHT NOW!鈥�
In Westport, a wealthy Fairfield County town that also has more than a 2-1 Democratic advantage, Democrat Kevin Christie was elected first selectman, becoming the first Black candidate to win the seat. He succeeds Republican Jen Tooker. Democrat Josh Brooks won in Branford, another Democratic gain.
Republican Molly Spino claimed victory in the open race to succeed Republican Mayor Elinor Carbone in Torrington, a city that has been trending towards the GOP. Unofficial results showed her winning with 53.7% of the vote.
While Democrats had been optimistic about flipping the open seats, no one predicted the sweep against Republican incumbents in Ansonia, Bristol, Milford and Stratford.
Bristol was a rematch that returned Democrat Ellen Zoppo-Sassu to power. She narrowly defeated Republican Jeffrey Caggiano, who had unseated her four years earlier. Neither made an issue of Trump or national politics.
Other Democratic upsets came in landslides.
Republican Mayor Laura Hoydick was unseated in Stratford by Democrat David Chess, a physician. Unofficial results showed Chess winning by 10 percentage points.
In Milford, Democrat Rich Smith unseated Republican Tony Giannattasio by a similar margin, a vindication after a snub by his own local party in 2023. Smith had finished the term of Mayor Ben Blake, who had resigned to become an administrative law judge, but the party declined to nominate him for a full term.
The vote in Ansonia was even more loppsided. Democrat Frank Tyszka beat the Republican incumbent, David Cassetti, by 17 percentage points.
Eight years ago, Democrats also did well in the municipal races after Trump鈥檚 first win, prompting Democratic predictions of good things to come in 2018. And they did, as Democrats made huge gains in the General Assembly, won an open race for governor and maintained control over all the congressional seats.
On Tuesday, the Democratic state chair, Roberto Alves, initially was relatively circumspect, saying he was looking forward to analyzing the gains and what they might mean for 2026, when Gov. Ned Lamont will be seeking a third term. Further gains in the General Assembly will be difficult, given Democrats hold majorities of 25-11 in the Senate and 102-49 in the House.
Trump is hard to ignore as a factor, he said. Since the president鈥檚 return to the White House, Democrats have been trying to knit together a network of advocacy groups opposed to his policies, Alves said. But as the victories continued to roll in, the Democrats issued a stronger celebratory statement.
鈥淭his election sends a loud message that Democrats have found our voice and our power,鈥� Alves said in the statement. 鈥淲e put our trust in Democrats to lead our cities and towns, like many other Democrats across the country. We are in this fight for the future of our country, and we will win.鈥�
Alves, who is halfway through a regimen of chemotherapy for lymphoma, was among the victors Tuesday night, easily winning a second two-year term as mayor of Danbury. His victory two years ago ended a 22-year Republcian winning streak in Danbury, where Republican Mark Boughton served for two decades.
Ben Proto, the Republican state chair, declined to identify Trump or anything else as a common theme in the Republican losses, saying local races still primarily turn on local issues and personalities.
In Middlebury, the leader of opposition to a distribution center, Jennifer Mahr, won an open race for first selectman as an unaffiliated petitioning candidate.
Voters went to the polls in all but one of the state鈥檚 169 cities and towns. Union, a rural community off I-84 on the Massachusetts border, is the last town to hold municipal contests in May. There were contests for mayor or first selectman in 122 communities, though 45 .
With no contested races in the state鈥檚 largest cities, the focus Tuesday was on smaller cities like New Britain, Norwich, Norwalk and others.
Of the five largest cities, Stamford and New Haven were the only ones with mayoral contests: Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, both Democrats, had uneventful reelections.
Democrats also retained control of city halls in Norwalk and Hamden, winning open seats.
In Norwalk, Democrat Barbara Smyth beat Republican Vinny Scicchitano to succeed Harry Rilling, whose election 12 years ago solidified the Democratic hold over city hall. Adam Sendroff, who convincingly won a five-way Democratic primary in September, won a four-way race for mayor in Hamden.
Republican Mark A. Lauretti, who has been mayor of Shelton since 1991, was reelected to his 18th two-year term with 54% of the vote in a three way race against two Democrats, one running as a petitioning candidate.
In Wolcott, where unaffiliated candidate Thomas G. Dunn had been routinely reelected mayor without opposition in repeated election cycles, faced a Republican challenger this year, Paul D. D鈥橝ngelo. Dunn won with 73% of the vote.
Oxford First Selectman George R. Temple, 79, who had to win a GOP primary as a challenger after the local party endorsed his former protege, was reelected. In Plainfield, Republican First Selectman Kevin M. Cunningham was reelected narrowly in a three-way race. The runnerup was Paul E. Sweet, who ran as a petitioning candidate after losing a primary to Cunningham.
Two Democratic state senators were on the municipal ballot. Norm Needleman was reelected without opposition as first selectman of Essex. In Sprague, Cathy Osten was running against Republican Cheryl Allen Blanchard, who had unseated Osten six years ago. Results for that race were not available late Tuesday.
CT Mirror reporter P.R. Lockhart contributed to this story.
