GOP Wins Across the Board in Ridgefield

Late Tuesday night – or early Wednesday morning – when the official local election results came in, they showed that Republicans had taken every race in the 111th District, though some statewide results had already been finalized by concession.

For local Republican candidates Rep. John Frey and Probate Judge Joseph Egan, the election was a success, despite big losses at the state level notably by Linda McMahon and Dan Debicella.

A total of 16,366 people voted in Ridgefield, which is 64 percent of the registered voters. For a mid-term election, this is above average.

Frey and Egan are both longtime incumbents – Frey has had the state congressional seat for 12 years, and Egan has been probate judge for 20.

Frey finished the election night with 7,140 votes to his Democratic opponent Joseph Heyman's 3,217.

"It is an incredible honor Ridgefield has bestowed on me," Frey said at the Republican headquarters as the numbers were still coming in. "It's an affirmation of what I've done."

He realizes, though, there is a lot to do.

"We're facing two really difficult years budget-wise," Frey said. "We can't think of anything right now besides pulling up our sleeves and getting started."

Heyman said earlier in the day that he was proud of all the work he and his campaign members had done.

"Win or lose, this was a campaign victory," he said outside Scotts Ridge Middle School – the District Two polling place – late afternoon. "It's the best campaign I've ever been a part of."

Egan's race against Newtown's Tim Holian proved to be a similar affair – the years under Egan's belt as probate judge were more than the Holian campaign could overcome.

"I've said that qualifications and experience should make a difference," Egan said, also at the Republican headquarters after the polls closed, "and they did."

The difference this year in the probate judge race was that Ridgefield – Egan's previous jurisdiction – had been slated to join Bethel, Newtown and Redding as one district.

"The first thing will be to get everything organized," he said of taking on the new responsibility in a new office in Bethel. "With the courts opening Jan. 5, we'll have to start moving soon and talking to the clerks, but we'll be ready."

Egan won the vote over Holian 7,438 to 2,737.

Ridgefield Democrat George Jepsen declared his victory over Martha Dean in the statewide race for Attorney General. However, like all other Democrats in Ridgefield, Jepsen had only 4,343 votes to Dean's 5,575 in the 111th District.

Nationally, Republicans gained control of the House of Representatives but did not do the same in the Senate – John Boehner will be the new Speaker of the House.

In Ridgefield, Tom Foley's Republican camp beat out Democrat Dan Malloy's with 6,102 votes to Malloy's 4,181 for the gubernatorial seat. Because of a ballot shortage in Bridgeport earlier Tuesday, though, their hotly contested race remained undecided in the wee hours of Wednesday, though Malloy seemed to have taken the lead.

In Ridgefield, the following election results were posted a little after midnight:

Governor and Lt. Governor

Foley and Boughton (R): 6,102

Malloy and Wyman (D): 4,181

Marsh and Booker (I): 78

United States Senator

Linda E. McMahon (R): 5,675

Richard Blumenthal (D): 4,573

Dr. John Mertens (CL): 51

Warren B. Mosler (I): 108

Rep. In Congress

Dan Debicella (R): 5,576

Jim Himes (D): 4,783

State Senator

Toni Boucher (R): 6,547

John Hartwell (D): 3,678

State Representative

John H. Frey (R): 7,140

Joseph Heyman (D): 3,217

Sec. of the State

Jerry Ferrell, Jr. (R): 5,576

Denise Merrill (D): 4,191

S. Michael DeRosa (G): 74

Ken Mosher (L): 87

Michael J. Telesca (I): 102

Treasurer

Jeff Wright (R): 5,718

Denise L. Napier (D): 4,091

S. David Blue (G): 57

Andrew Grant White (I): 141

Comptroller

Jack Orchulli (R): 5,652

Kevin Lembo (D): 3,902

Colin D. Bennett (G): 66

Joshua Katz (L): 121

Hugh Dolan (I): 141

Attorney General

Martha Dean (R): 5,575

George Jepsen (D): 4,343

Stephen E.D. Fournier (G, I): 165

Judge of Probate

Joseph A. Egan, Jr.: 7,438

Timothy J. Holian: 2,737

Registrar of Voters

Hope S. Wise (R): 5,683

Cynthia A. Bruno (D): 4,276