It was almost heartbreak at Hula Hank’s … then New Haven Mayor John DeStefano pulled ahead, declaring victory with a 51 to 49 lead over contender Dan Malloy in a nerve-wracking Democratic gubernatorial primary Tuesday night. “Connecticut deserves better than what it’s had under 12 years of [former Gov.] John Rowland and [Gov.] Jodi Rell,” said DeStefano in a victory speech at the Hawaiian-themed downtown New Haven club.
In an unusual twist, DeStefano must now run on a split ticket: His running-mate for lieutenant governor, 32 year-old West Hartford Mayor Scott Slifka, lost the race to Malloy’s choice, Mary Glassman. Glassman, a former Simsbury First Selectwoman, won 57 percent of the vote; Slifka 43.
Following Malloy’s concession, DeStefano declared the victory shortly before midnight. “The Democrats of Connecticut have made the choice to stand for something; they’ve made the choice to stand for universal health care,” he said, turning to the campaign’s biggest issue. He also stressed equal wages for women, job growth, and “end[ing] this property tax that’s crushing our working families.”
Early Wednesday morning with 98 percent of precincts reporting, DeStefano led Malloy by 134,944 to 130,826 votes, according to unofficial results. In a mildly conciliatory concession speech, Malloy urged Dems to “gather together and rally together to make sure that a Democrat is elected as governor.”
For over three hours on the tense dance floor, no one knew how the final votes would fall. Was it the massive statewide labor support, or the high turnout fed by a hot U.S. Senate race? What made the difference?
“Field organization and the message,” said DeStefano Spokesman Derek Slap, hugging supporters under the club’s palm trees and tikki torches. As Slap watched the election unfold with DeStefano and family in New Haven’s City Hall, the results —” heavy turnout in Fairfield County due to Lamont —” looked daunting, said Slap.
“We knew we would have to win big” in the cities. And win they did, in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, and New London. Despite the fact that some of the big-city mayors endorsed Malloy.
Did DeStefano’s army of labor support —” about 45 unions representing 210,000 people, with a rare endorsement from the statewide AFL-CIO —” make a difference on Election Day? Labor wasn’t the only factor; a base of grassroots volunteers made the campaign strong . But “Organized labor played a real big role,” Slap said.
And what about Malloy’s widespread newspaper endorsements, including The New York Times? “We didn’t win the papers, but we won the people,” said Slap.
“We have a great team and our campaign stands for something,” summed up Campaign Manager Henry Fernandez, declining to pin down a single factor.
“It wasn’t any one thing; it was the sum of a hundred of things done right,” agreed DeStefano between hugs from supporters who’ve been by his side for a hard-fought, two-and-a-half year campaign.
With his $4 million campaign bank spent and a long road ahead to oust popular Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell in November, DeStefano was glad to now get support from his Democratic contender. Through the course of an increasingly negative campaign on both sides, Malloy has called DeStefano a “hypocritical” “flip-flopper,” and shown a TV ad with pictures of the candidate in drag.
“The nice thing is now, Democrats get to stand together,” said DeStefano. The two are scheduled to attend a Democratic “unity party” Wednesday morning at state party headquarters.