Candidates Turn Attention to November After Primaries
New Britain residents were on hand to a “unity rally” that the Democratic statewide and Congressional candidates held less than a week after the August 14th primaries.
The rally was held at Minuteman Park, near the State Capitol in Hartford on August 18th.
With the crowded field of candidates having been narrowed by Democratic and Republican party primaries, both parties’ candidates are now turning their attention to the November 6th elections.
In the primaries, New Britain Democrats voted in a similar way to other Democrats, statewide, and for Congress, while New Britain Republicans voted differently than Republicans statewide in three of the seven races
In the election for Governor, Democratic voters nominated Ned Lamont in the primary on August 14th. Lamont also received the greatest number of votes, 2,662, among New Britain Democrats.
The Republicans nominated Bob Stefanowski in their statewide primary, who also received the most votes, 357, among Republican candidates in New Britain.
Democrats, in the statewide primary, nominated Susan Bysiewicz for Lieutenant Governor. Bysiewicz received the greatest number of votes, 2,019, among New Britain Democrats.
In party primaries, candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor run separately and party members vote for them separately. But, in the general election in November, each party’s nominees for Governor and Lieutenant Governor run together and voters vote for them as a team. So, Lamont and Bysiewicz will appear together on the ballot in November.
Republicans nominated Southington State Senator Joe Markley as their candidate for Lieutenant Governor. In one of three cases when New Britain Republicans voted differently than Republicans did, statewide, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart received the most Republican votes in New Britain, 822, though she received less than one-third of the statewide Republican vote. Stefanowski and Markley will appear together on the ballot in November.
For United States Senator, incumbent Christopher Murphy was re-nominated by Democrats, and did not face a primary challenge for the position.
To challenge Murphy, Republicans nominated Matthew Corey, who with 851 votes, also received the highest vote total among New Britain Republicans.
Jahana Hayes was nominated by Democratic voters in the primary for the Fifth Congressional District. She also received the largest number of votes, 2,119, among New Britain Democrats.
Republicans nominated Manny Santos as their candidate in the Fifth Congressional District in their primary, who also received the most votes, 574, among New Britain Republicans.
The Democrats nominated Shawn Wooden in their primary for the office of State Treasurer. With 2,045 votes, Wooden was also the favored candidate among New Britain Democrats.
On the Republican side for State Treasurer, Republicans nominated Thad Gray in their primary. However, New Britain Republicans voted in greater numbers, 619 to 527, for Gray’s primary opponent, Art Linares.
State Comptroller Kevin Lembo, faced no primary challenge, and was re-nominated to the position by Democrats.
Republicans, statewide, nominated Kurt Miller in the primary to challenge Lembo. However, New Britain Republicans had, instead, supported Mark Greenberg over Miller, 624 to 496.
Democrats statewide nominated William Tong for State Attorney General, who also won among New Britain Democrats, with 1,969 votes.
The Republicans nominated Sue Hatfield for Attorney General, who, with 876 votes, was also the preferred choice among New Britain Republicans
For Secretary of the State, Democrats renominated incumbent Denise Merrill, who did not face a primary challenge.
Republicans nominated Susan Chapman to challenge Merrill in the only statewide race without a Republican primary.
The general election for federal and state offices will be held on November 6, 2018.