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Republicans vote for 26th state Senate candidate in Tuesday's Primary

In addition to the presidential primaries, registered Republicans in portions of 7 area towns were also voting on a candidate to be the 26th state Senate challenger to Democratic freshman incumbent Will Haskell.  Wilton resident Kim Healy, the endorsed GOP candidate, garnered more votes than Bethel resident Will Duff, who had enough backing at the nominating convention to force a primary. 

With all polling locations reporting, Healy had 2,414 votes while Duff received 1,736.  This does not necessarily reflect all absentee ballots.

The district includes portions of Bethel, Redding, Ridgefield, Wilton, and Weston. 

Healy has a background in accounting. She says one of her priorities, if elected, is getting the state’s financial books in order. She also wants to keep zoning local and help businesses recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill has said there were about 300,000 requests for absentee ballots statewide, which is about 10 times the highest number of requests for absentee ballots for any election in Connecticut. Concerns about contracting the virus have recently been added to the list of eligible excuses for both the primary and general election.

On Monday, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont signed an executive order that gives election officials until Thursday to wrap up counting the ballots, so long as they’re postmarked with Tuesday’s date of Aug. 11. Merrill had made the request because of the storm and other issues that delayed the delivery of applications and ballots. Also, power outages affected the election workers’ abilities to process ballots.

Some Republican legislators have criticized the move, accusing Merrill, a Democrat, of mishandling the temporary expanded absentee ballot system. They’ve cited delays in ballots being sent to voters and other issues. Merrill said it’s been an “unprecedented situation” given the pandemic, noting “our job is to allow people to vote under very trying circumstances.”

While Trump and Biden both faced challengers, they were expected all along to easily win on Tuesday. California real estate developer and businessman Rocque “Rocky” De La Fuente challenged Trump, while Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hawaii U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard challenged Biden, even though both suspended their campaigns. In each race, voters could also choose to vote “uncommitted.”

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Brian Kilmeade

Local Headlines