Incumbent Democrat Defeats Republican State Senator In Fairfield, Unofficial Results Show

by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie

FAIRFIELD, CT — Incumbent Democrat Christine Vitale appears to have turned back a challenge from state Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield, in a special election for first selectperson in Fairfield.

Multiple news outlets are reporting that Vitale defeated Hwang by about 2,000 votes Tuesday. The website FairfieldVotes.org posted unofficial results showing Vitale with 9,598 votes to Hwang’s 7,556. That is a margin of just under 12 percentage points.

Hwang, who has served in the legislature since 2009, first as a state representative and since 2015 in the Senate, gathered petition signatures to force the special election after the death of first-term Democratic First Selectman Bill Gerber on July 15, 2025 at age 60.

Vitale, Gerber’s running mate in 2023, served as Gerber’s successor in an interim role.

Hwang retains his seat in the state Senate, which convenes for its 2026 session Wednesday.