GOP challenges one CT Senate result, but Democrats keep majorities
Chris Reddy, the Republican challenger to Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, in the closely contested 29th Senate District, asked elections officials Thursday to investigate votes cast by college students who registered on Election Day.
Reddy wants the State Elections Enforcement Commission to determine if the University of Connecticut students bused to town hall in Mansfield by Democrats were properly registered before voting.
Unofficial results show Flexer narrowly winning with 49.78% of the vote, trailed by Reddy at 48.41% and Alice Leibowitz of the Green Party at 1.81%. Reddy had conceded to Flexer, then reconsidered.
With a net gain of at least four seats in the House and one in Senate, barring a change in the Mansfield results, the Democratic majorities are expected to increase to at least 102-49 in the House and 25-11 in the Senate on Jan. 8, 2025. Two-thirds of the House, or 101 seats, is a veto-proof super-majority.
Reddy's complaint comes as the newly elected and reelected members of the General Assembly met in caucuses Thursday to formally, if uneventfully, vote to retain the leaders of the Democratic majorities and Republican minorities.
Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, whose caucus had a better-than-expected showing Tuesday, solidified his position as the leader of the Capitol's smallest and, at times, most fractious contingent.
His predecessor, Sen. Kevin Kelly of Stratford, had won the post after the 2022 elections by a single vote. Kelly, who remains in the Senate and was present Thursday, stepped down as leader in favor of Harding while facing a removal vote in February.
A rumored contest for leader in the new terms that begins in January never took shape, and Harding was reelected Tuesday by acclamation. He acknowledged welcoming a more conventional beginning to a new term as leader.
"It's a little less hectic. I think it allows me the opportunity to provide a little more organization to our structure, to committee assignments, to what the overall cause is for the Senate Republican caucus," Harding said.
House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, was reelected without opposition, as were the Democratic leaders: House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas of East Hartford, Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney of New Haven and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk.
As leaders of the House and Senate, as well as of their caucuses, Ritter and Looney also are subject to votes by their full respective chambers on Jan. 8, the opening day of the 2025 session and first day of the 2025-26 term.
Harding emerged from his members-only caucus to thank the staff for its election efforts.
Democrats had targeted four incumbents who had won two years ago with less than 51% of the vote — and at least three of them, in districts where Donald J. Trump was a liability, were widely expected to lose.
The only loss was Sen. Lisa Seminara, R-Avon, who had defeated Democrat Paul Honig in a race for an open seat in 2022. Honig never stopped running, and unofficial results showed him winning Tuesday with 52% of the vote.
Democrats flipped six Republican seats in the House for a net gain of at least four: Republicans captured a Democratic seat in Greenwich and claimed a second one in Torrington.
A hand count of the ballots is continuing in the 65th House District, where Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, was trailing Republican Joe Canino in a district that favored Donald J. Trump.
"We have a pickup of at least four — five, if Michelle wins," said Ritter, who will be only the third person to serve a third term as speaker of the Connecticut House. The others were his father, Thomas D. Ritter of Hartford, and his successor, Moira Lyons of Stamford.
Canino, who now is a Senate Republican press aide, was among the representatives and representatives-elect to endorse Candelora as minority leader. The results have not been certified, but he said he believes he has won by about 600 votes. Republican Tina Courpas defeated Rep. Rachel Khanna, D-Greenwich, in the 149th House District.
Republicans have conceded losses by Rep. Holly Cheeseman of East Lyme, Rep. Kathleen McCarty of Waterford, Rep. Francis Cooley of Plainville, Rep. Rachel Chaleski of Danbury and Rep. Laura Dancho of Stratford. They also lost an open seat in West Haven.
The Democratic winners in those districts are Nick Menapace over Cheeseman in the 37th District, Nick Gauthier over McCarty in the 38th, Rebecca Martinez over Cooley in the 22nd, Kenneth Gucker winning a rematch with Chaleski in the 138th, and Kaitlyn Shake over Dancho in the 120th. MJ Shannon won the open 117th District seat in West Haven that Republican Charles Ferraro had held for a decade.
The close contest in the 29th Senate District of Brooklyn, Canterbury, Killingly, Mansfield, Pomfret, Putnam, Scotland, Thompson and Windham was surprising, but not shocking. Flexer won with less than 51% of the vote in 2022 but typically runs stronger in presidential election years, when Democratic turnout surges.
Her district is one of extremes: seven small and largely rural communities that vote Republican, and two larger ones that favor Democrats — Windham and Mansfield. Getting UConn students to the polls always is a goal for Flexer, and one of the two early voting locations in Mansfield was on the UConn campus.
Reddy's campaign manager, Wendy Sears, said Democrats distributed solicitations in the dorms and provided coach rides to town hall and pizza while they were in line.
"It was a three-ring circus," she said.
Stopping the certification of the results most likely would require court action, and Sears said a lawsuit had not been ruled out.
Flexer could not be reached for comment.
"We believe Mae Flexer clearly won the election," Looney said.
If the overall results did not meet Democratic expectations of flipping more Republican Senate seats, Looney said Democrats still found ample cause to celebrate: For the fourth straight time, the Democrats added seats — four in 2018 and one in 2020, 2022 and 2024.
Looney said the Democrats have not won more than 24 seats since 1986, when they also captured 25.
Republicans have not won control of the General Assembly since the Republican landslide led by Ronald Reagan in 1984. Republicans captured the Senate, but not the House, for a single term in 1994.
