Sam Gurwitt Photo
Cabrera: 2nd time the charm.
The region’s hardest-fought local race came to an end Thursday morning, as a Republican incumbent conceded to a challenger whose victory gives the Democrats a veto-proof State Senate majority.
The incumbent, Republican State Sen. George Logan, congratulated challenge Jorge Cabrera on Cabrera’s four-percentage-point victory in the 17th District.
Cabrera had declared victory Wednesday night around 9 — waiting to do so given how close the match had been in 2018. In 2018, Cabrera ended election night thinking he had won the race, only to wake up the next day and realize there would be a recount. He ended up losing after the recount by just 77 votes. This time, he did not make the mistake of assuming victory prematurely, but once Hamden’s new numbers came out Wednesday, he went ahead.
Cabrera’s final vote count this time as reported by the state Thursday afternoon — including absentee ballots — came in at 25,034, or 52 percent of the total vote. That was 2,076 votes better than Logan’s final districtwide tally of 22,958.
“I’m extremely humbled and honored that they would choose me to represent them in the senate,” he said in a phone call with the Independent. He said he would continue to fight for the same things he has been fighting for in his union work: good healthcare, and access to well-paying jobs. He said he would also focus on helping small businesses in the state.
On Thursday, he said, it’s back to work, and then Friday he has his first meeting with the State’s new Democratic caucus.
That Democrats now will have a veto-proof Senate majority. Cabrera’s victory gives the Democrats at least 24 out of the Senate’s 36 seats, with two more races remaining to be called.
New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney, the Senate president pro tem, told the Independent he’s hoping this term to see the Democrats push for a more progressive tax structure, a public option for health care, and more funding for public education.
Tuesday evening, Cabrera appeared to take a narrow lead over Logan, but a key group of votes had not yet been counted: Hamden absentee ballots.
Logan, who lives in Ansonia, has his strongest support in the purple district’s Naugatuck Valley towns: Ansonia, Derby, Bethany, Beacon Falls, and Naugatuck. By the end of the night Tuesday, every town in the district except Hamden had reported most or all of their votes, though Ansonia still had about 256 ballots to count.
As expected, Cabrera’s hometown of Hamden, which comprises 40 percent of the district, voted overwhelmingly in his favor. With Hamden absentee ballots the only major clump of votes left to count, his victory was close to certain by the end of Tuesday.
Wednesday evening, he got the boost he needed to send him to Hartford when Hamden released its updated absentee ballot count, pushing him from a lead of just a handful of votes to a comfortable four-point margin.
Logan at a recent community event.
Thursday morning, Logan called Cabrera to congratulate him on his win.
“I have certainly enjoyed the whole experience,” he wrote to the Independent. “It’s been great in terms of working with such a wonderful group of legislators, staff and especially everyone in our community to help improve the lives of folks living in the 17th SD and to fix Connecticut. For now, I will continue my community service work at the local level.”
The Logan-Cabrera match, in a district that includes some of the region’s most pro-Trump and most liberal precincts, was a clash of clear conservative-liberal philosophies, mirroring the nation’s ideological split. Logan campaigned on lower taxes and less regulation, while Cabrera, a labor organizer, promoted paid family leave, a public health care option, minimum wage hikes that Logan opposed.
Elliott, D’Agostino, Porter Reelected
Most of Hamden’s delegation (Cabrera, Sen. Martin Looney, Rep. Mike D’Agostino, Rep. Josh Elliott) with Lieut. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz the day before the election.
Wednesday evening’s results also pushed Rep. Josh Elliott to a comfortable victory in the 88th house district over Republican challenger Kathy Hoyt. He won 7169 votes, or 66 percent. Hoyt garnered 3,769 votes.
Thursday afternoon, Hoyt conceded the race. “Earlier today Hamden absentee ballots results came out and showed we had fallen short of our goal,” she wrote to the Independent. “I called Josh to congratulate him on a well fought campaign. While the results were not what we were hoping for I am proud of the work our campaign accomplished.” She thanked Elliott for running a clean race in which “both candidates’ visions of the future and of our state were made clear and the voters were able to make a choice without the dirt throwing of a typical political rival race.”
Rep. Mike D’Agostino also won reelection in his race for the 91st House District. His challenger, Weruché George, is a fellow Democrat who ran as a petitioning candidate because she did not decide to run in time to get on the primary ballot.
Porter at a “party at the polls” Tuesday with James Chapman, a.k.a. dj tootskee.
State Rep. Robyn Porter of the 94th District will also return to Hartford representing portions of Hamden and New Haven. She ran unopposed.