by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — The Secretary of the State’s office reported that West Hartford was the top early voting community statewide in every daily report released through Friday, with Hamden holding the second spot each day.
There is only one statewide primary under way — between incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont and Hamden state Rep. Josh Elliott — and as such, Democrats had cast just under 40,000 votes through Friday leading up to Tuesday’s primary election.
Republicans are participating in a handful of contested primaries for congressional and General Assembly seats. As of Friday, just under 4,000 Republicans had voted in those primaries.
West Hartford and Hamden have been the top communities statewide in every report from the secretary’s office, with Hamden holding the second spot each day. Voting tallies increased throughout last week, with 328 West Hartford voters casting early ballots Monday, building to 1,907 on Friday.
In the 4th Congressional District, Michael Goldstein of Greenwich and Daniel Miressi of Norwalk are running for the Republican Party’s backing to challenge nine-term incumbent Democrat Jim Himes. Goldstein is the party-endorsed candidate.
Norwalk has been among the state leaders in early voting, with 157 early votes cast Monday, building to 863 on Friday. That places Norwalk fifth in early voting. Stamford, which is also part of the district, has also been solidly in the top 10 state communities.
Elliott’s hometown of Hamden is among the top communities for early voting, with 1,525 ballots cast as of the end of last week, according to numbers from the Secretary of the State’s Office.
SOTS spokesman Matthew Clyburn, though, cautioned that the numbers were subject to change as not all communities report on the same schedule, and regular audits take place throughout the process.
“These numbers do not represent final or official election results,” he said. “Totals may change as verification continues.”
In addition to the gubernatorial primary, West Hartford also is home to state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, an underdog candidate running in a rare four-way Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District seat currently held by U.S. Rep. John Larson.
Aside from Gilchrest, Larson, a 14-term incumbent, is facing challenges from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin and Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune. Bronin won the party’s endorsement at its May convention, but both Larson and Gilchrest earned enough support to qualify for a primary. Fortune would later gather petition signatures to secure a spot on the ballot.
Hamden’s vote tallies also increased steadily during the week, from 274 on Monday to 1,525 Friday. Manchester, Norwalk, Glastonbury, Bloomfield, Stamford, Milford, and Windsor also have shown relatively high turnout in early voting.
On the Republican side, the highest profile race appears to be in the 5th Congressional District, where Jonathan De Barros is challenging Christopher Shea for the party’s backing to challenge incumbent Democrat Jahana Hayes in November. Shea won the party’s backing at the convention.
The race generated public scrutiny last month when De Barros, who pleaded guilty and served 19 years in prison for killing a man before receiving a pardon in 2021, sued four Shea supporters for defamation for referring to him as a murderer.
The pardon means he is truthfully able to state that he has never been arrested or convicted for the incident for which he was pardoned.
In the 4th Congressional District, Michael Goldstein of Greenwich and Daniel Miressi of Norwalk are running for the Republican Party’s backing to challenge nine-term incumbent Democrat Jim Himes. Goldstein is the party-endorsed candidate.
In that Fairfield County district, both Norwalk and Stamford have consistently ranked in the top 10 statewide in early voting turnout.
Overall, the office reported 39,902 Democrats and 3,817 Republicans had voted early as of Friday. In addition, 11,377 Democrats and 740 Republicans had submitted absentee ballots.