Election over at last with Rigby and Malloy now claiming victories

The Northwest Corner experienced high voter turnout and remained mostly in the Democratic column during the Nov. 2 elections.

Democrat Dan Malloy beat Republican Tom Foley in the governor’s race by a little more than 1,000 votes in the six Region One school district towns (Cornwall, Falls Village, Kent, North Canaan, Salisbury and Sharon), for a lead here of 3,718 to 2,748.

Democrat Richard Blumenthal likewise prevailed over Republican Linda McMahon in the race to take the seat vacated in the U.S. Senate by the retiring Democrat Christopher Dodd. Blumenthal won in this region 4,061 to 2,454.

Incumbent U.S. Representative Chris Murphy (5th District), a Democrat, defeated GOP state Senator Sam Caligiuri 3,941 to 2,206. Some district-wide polls had Caligiuri ahead by as much as six points in the week leading up to the election, but the reports of Murphy’s impending demise were apparently premature.

State Senator Andrew Roraback (R-30) won reelection handily, with only token opposition from Dennis O’Neil of the Working Families Party.

In the state assembly’s 64th District, the all-Salisbury matchup between Democratic incumbent Roberta Willis and GOP challenger Kathy Lauretano came closest to matching national races in style and content, with Lauretano openly identifying herself with national conservative figures such as Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich during a question-and-answer forum with Willis at Housatonic Valley Regional High School Oct. 15.

But voters in Salisbury, Sharon and Cornwall preferred to stick with Willis, by a vote of 2,614 to 1,124.

Voters in Kent, part of the 108th District (along with Sherman and parts of New Fairfield and New Milford), preferred Democrat Ken Neal to Republican Richard Smith in the race to succeed retiring GOP state Representative Mary Ann Carson by a margin of 765 to 550. Voters elsewhere in the district disagreed, however, and Smith won.

A similar split occurred in the 63rd District, where voters in  Falls Village and North Canaan chose Democrat William Riiska for their state representative. Districtwide, however, incumbent Republican John Rigby was the victor, even though he is currently living and working in Afghanistan.

The race between incumbent  Rigby and Riiska was so close as to require recounts, which were done on Monday, Nov. 8. The vote tally listed at the secretary of the state’s website had not been updated as of Nov. 9.

But the final vote count in Falls Village gave Riiska the lead, 266 to 168. The vote total in North Canaan after the recount was 506 for Riiska to 467 for Rigby.

Following the recount, Foley, who conceded to Malloy Nov. 8, won in North Canaan (520-484) and came close in Falls Village (losing 239-213).

McMahon also ran close in North Canaan, losing 517-496.

In the three towns that reported turnout — Falls Village, Cornwall and Sharon — 2,462 of 3,541 registered voters cast ballots, for a percentage of 69.5.

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