The GOP challenges one CT Senate result, but Democrats retain the majority

Chris Reddy, the Republican challenger to Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Windham, in the closely contested 29th Senate District, asked election officials Thursday to investigate votes cast by students who registered on Election Day.

Reddy wants the State Elections Enforcement Commission to determine whether the University of Connecticut students brought by Democrats to City Hall in Mansfield were properly registered before voting.

Unofficial results show Flexer narrowly winning with 49.78% of the vote, followed by Reddy with 48.41% and Alice Leibowitz of the Green Party with 1.81%. Reddy had given in to Flexer but then reconsidered.

With a net gain of at least four seats in the House of Representatives and one in the Senate, barring a change in Mansfield’s results, Democratic majorities are expected to increase to at least 102-49 in the House of Representatives and 25 -11 in the Senate on January 1. October 8, 2025. Two-thirds of the House of Representatives, or 101 seats, has a veto-free supermajority.

Reddy’s complaint comes as newly elected and re-elected members of the General Assembly met Thursday to formally, albeit quietly, vote to retain the leadership of the Democratic majorities and Republican minorities.

Senate Minority Leader Stephen Harding, R-Brookfield, whose caucus had a better-than-expected outcome Tuesday, consolidated his position as leader of the Capitol’s smallest and sometimes most fractious contingent.

His predecessor, Sen. Kevin Kelly of Stratford, had won the post by one vote after the 2022 election. Kelly, who remains in the Senate and was present on Thursday, resigned as leader favor of Harding while an removal vote was set to take place in February.

A rumored battle for leader in the new terms starting in January never took shape and Harding was re-elected by acclamation on Tuesday. He acknowledged that he welcomed a more conventional start to a new term as leader.

“It’s a little less hectic. I think it gives me an opportunity to provide a little more organization to our structure, to committee assignments, to what the overall issue is for the Republican caucus in the Senate,” Harding said.

House Minority Leader Vincent J. Candelora, R-North Branford, was reelected unopposed, as were Democratic leaders: House Speaker Matt Ritter of Hartford, House Majority Leader Jason Rojas of East Hartford, Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney of East Hartford and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff of Norwalk.

As leaders of the House and Senate, as well as their caucuses, Ritter and Looney are also subject to votes by their full chambers on Jan. 8, the opening day of the 2025 legislative session and the first day of the 2025-2026 legislative session.

Harding emerged from his membership meeting to thank the staff for their election efforts.

Democrats targeted four incumbents who won with less than 51% of the vote two years ago — and at least three of them, in districts where Donald J. Trump was a danger, 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 of Representatives, for a net gain of at least four: Republicans captured a Democratic seat in Greenwich and claimed a second in Torrington.

Manual counting of ballots continues in the 65th House District, where Rep. Michelle Cook, D-Torrington, trailed Republican Joe Canino in a district favored by 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 is now a Republican press aide in the Senate, was among the representatives and elected officials who endorsed Candelora as minority leader. The results haven’t been certified, but he said he thinks he won by about 600 votes. Republican Tina Courpas defeated Rep. Rachel Khanna, D-Greenwich, in the 149th House District.

Joe Canino, who believes he will be declared representative-elect on Friday, talks with Representative Craig Fishbein before the House Republican Party caucus on Thursday. Credit: mark pazniokas / ctmirror.org

Republicans have conceded losses from 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 of Cheeseman in the 37th District, Nick Gauthier of McCarty in the 38th, Rebecca Martinez of Cooley in the 22nd, Kenneth Gucker winning a rematch with Chaleski in the 138th and Kaitlyn Shake of Dancho in the 138th Precinct. 120th. MJ Shannon won the open 117th District seat in West Haven that Republican Charles Ferraro had held for a decade.

The close battle 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 tends to perform stronger in presidential election years when Democratic turnout rises.

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 is always a goal for Flexer, and one of the two first voting locations in Mansfield was on the UConn campus.

Reddy’s campaign manager, Wendy Sears, said Democrats handed out invitations in the dorms and bus rides to city hall and provided pizza while they waited in line.

“It was a three-ring circus,” she said.

Stopping the certification of the results would most likely require legal action, and Sears said a lawsuit had not been ruled out.

Flexer could not be reached for comment.

“We believe that Mae Flexer clearly won the election,” Looney said.

While the overall results fell short of Democratic expectations of flipping more Republican Senate seats, Looney said Democrats still found plenty of reason to celebrate: For the fourth time in a row, Democrats added seats — four in 2018 and one in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

Looney said Democrats haven’t won more than 24 seats since 1986, when they also captured 25.

Republicans have not gained control of the General Assembly since the Republican landslide led by Ronald Reagan in 1984. Republicans captured the Senate, but not the House, for one term in 1994.