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Recount alert on Republican lieutenant gubernatorial contest: Connecticut state executive primary elections review
- *Note: This article was updated to reflect late developments in the race. Click here to read the updated version.
August 13, 2014
| August 13, 2014 Election Review |
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HARTFORD, Connecticut: On August 12, three state executive primaries were held to decide the Republican nominees for governor, lieutenant governor and state comptroller. Tom Foley defeated John McKinney to secure his second consecutive GOP gubernatorial nomination and the right to a rematch with current Democratic Gov. Dan Malloy. Meanwhile, Sharon McLaughlin easily overtook Angel Cadena in the state comptroller race and will challenge incumbent Kevin Lembo in November. Malloy and Lembo, along with the other four Democratic state executives up for re-election in 2014, were unopposed for their party's nominations this year.
As of 11:00am EDT the morning after election day, the outcome of the lieutenant gubernatorial Republican primary remains unknown. Unofficial totals provided by the Associated Press and NBC Connecticut show former Groton Mayor Heather Somers a mere 716 votes ahead of state Rep. Penny Bacchiochi, with David Walker, a former U.S. Comptroller General, hovering close behind in third place.[1][2] Results are still trickling in from a few slow-to-report towns, which have until 6:00pm Wednesday to turn in their final vote totals to Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill. At that point, there will either be a definitive victor or the more likely scenario of a recount will play out. Under Connecticut election law, an automatic recount is triggered if the margin separating the highest vote-getters falls within one-half a percentage point of the total number of ballots cast; for Somers and Bacchiochi, that is a difference of 1,000 votes. Delegates of the Connecticut Republican Party voted to back Bacchiochi for lieutenant governor at their convention in May, so a win for Somers would be a modest upset.[3][4] The GOP nominee for lieutenant governor will go on to share the ticket with Tom Foley in the general election battle against Democratic incumbents Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman.
A total of six state executive seats are up for election in 2014 in the state of Connecticut, including governor, lieutenant governor and comptroller. The other three - attorney general, secretary of state and state treasurer - avoided primaries altogether by attracting a single Republican and Democratic candidate each.[5][6][7][8][9]
Here are the unofficial results of the August 12 state executive primary contests, as well as a peak at the upcoming general election fields:
Connecticut Governor
- See also: Connecticut Gubernatorial election, 2014
Primary results
| Governor of Connecticut, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Tom Foley |
55.6% | 44,144 | ||
| John McKinney | 44.4% | 35,282 | ||
| Total Votes | 79,426 | |||
| Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
Running mates listed together in order of "Governor/Lieutenant Governor"
Dan Malloy/Nancy Wyman (Democrat, Working Families) - Incumbent [5]
Tom Foley/Heather Somers (Republican, Independent)[10]
(Unaffiliated) Joseph Visconti/Chester Harris[11]
Lost in the Republican primary
Connecticut Lieutenant Governor
Primary results
| Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Heather Somers |
34.5% | 26,980 | ||
| Penny Bacchiochi | 33.6% | 26,311 | ||
| David Walker | 31.9% | 25,014 | ||
| Total Votes | 78,305 | |||
| Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
- Nancy Wyman - Incumbent[14][15]
- Heather Somers - Groton Mayor, marketing executive[16]
- Unaffiliated, Chester Harris[17]
Lost in the Republican primary
- Penny Bacchiochi - State House Republican Caucus Chair[18]
- David Walker - Former U.S. Comptroller General, accountant[19]
Connecticut Secretary of State
General election
Denise Merrill - Incumbent
Peter Lumaj - Attorney, 2012 GOP U.S. Senate candidate[20]
Mike DeRosa
Connecticut Attorney General
General election
George Jepsen - Incumbent [21]
Kie Westby[22]
Stephen Fournier
Connecticut Treasurer
General election
Denise L. Nappier - Incumbent
Tim Herbst - Attorney, Trumbull Town First Selectman[23]
Connecticut Comptroller
Primary results
| Connecticut Comptroller, Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Sharon McLaughlin |
75.6% | 53,373 | ||
| Angel Cadena | 24.4% | 17,214 | ||
| Total Votes | 70,587 | |||
| Election results via Connecticut Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
Kevin Lembo - Incumbent
Sharon McLaughlin[24]
Rolf Maurer
Lost in primary
See also
|
- Connecticut elections, 2014
- Connecticut state executive elections (overview):
- Primary preview: Connecticut state executive elections, 2014 August 11, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ The Associated Press, "Connecticut - Summary Vote Results," August 13, 2014
- ↑ NBC Connecticut, "Race results: Connecticut Primary Election," August 13, 2014
- ↑ ctpost.com, "Lieutenant governor GOP primary too close to call," August 12, 2014
- ↑ The Hartford Courant, "Lieutenant Governor Primary Still Too Close To Call," August 13, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Connecticut News Junkie, "Malloy Makes Re-election Bid Official," March 28, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "SEEC Form 1: Registration by Candidate: Denise Merril," December 18, 2013
- ↑ WNPR.org, "Connecticut Attorney General Jepsen Announces Re-election Bid," April 7, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "SEEC Form 1: Registration by Candidate: Denise Nappier," December 13, 2013
- ↑ Kevin Lembo for Comptroller 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ NewsTimes, "Foley: Woman would have helped ticket," January 4, 2013
- ↑ Connecticut Mirror, Foley keeps GOP off balance with unexpected 'exploratory' announcement, September 10, 2013
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedctgov - ↑ CT Post, "McKinney announces run for governor," July 23, 2013
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Committee Registration Statement," April 7, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Registration List for Election Year 2014," accessed April 28, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Committee Registration Statement," January 27, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut Secretary of State, "Candidate List, 2014 General Election," accessed October 13, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Committee Registration Statement," April 1, 2014
- ↑ Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Committee Registration Statement," April 9, 2014
- ↑ Peter Lumaj for Colorado Connecticut Secretary of State 2014 Official Campaign Website, "Homepage," accessed September 3, 2013
- ↑ WNPR.org, "Connecticut Attorney General Jepsen Announces Re-election Bid," April 7, 2014
- ↑ The Bulletin, Hackett on Politics: Do you know this year’s candidates? March 23, 2014
- ↑ Tim Herbst for Treasurer 2014 Official campaign website, "Homepage," accessed May 8, 2014
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission, "Candidate Registration List for Election Year 2014," accessed May 23, 2014
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