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Dannel Malloy Urged Get-Out-The-Vote Effort Straight Through To The Closing Of The Polls At 8 p.m.

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Veteran Courant reporter Matthew Kauffman is with the Malloy campaign at City Steam in Hartford.

His report follows:

On his campaign blog, Malloy urged campaign workers to keep up their efforts right up to the close of polls.

"If you are in Connecticut, please do not come to our election night party or stop working until 8pm," he urged.

And his supporters appeared to heed that plea. As 8 o'clock approached, partiers at City Steam Brewery in Hartford were outnumbered by journalists, who lined a long table, pondering voter turnout figures and debating the pronunciation of Malloy's first name.


5th District GOP Primary Close; Big Cities' Results Not Yet In

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Early returns showed state Sen. Sam Caligiuri, the convention-endorsed 5th Congressional District candidate in Tuesday's primary, in a tight race against challengers Justin Bernier and Mark Greenberg -- with the district's big cities, including Caligiuri's presumed hometown stronghold of Waterbury, yet to report their results.

Unofficial tallies as of 9:06 p.m. were: Caligiuri 2,145, Bernier 2,004, and Greenberg 1,885.

Motorcycle Club Is With McMahon On Primary Night

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The Rat Pack Motorcycle Club, a group of about 100 politically-minded bikers, likes Linda McMahon's ideas.

"We have to pick someone to believe in," said Vincent Mirabilio, of Bethlehem, a member of the Waterbury-based club.

Several club members are wearing their "RPMC" black vests proudly at McMahon's primary night headquarters at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell. She came to talk to our club, Mirabilio said, adding that the club is also supporting candidates running for other offices.

McMahon is one person who will help the country, said Ro Staples, of Waterbury, a club member.

"We're afraid of losing our rights," Staples said. "We want our country back. We've got to get rid of the Democrats."

The Rat Pack members say they often participate in tea party rallies across the state and that they've also helped campaign for McMahon.   

The mood at Rob Simmons' house

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Courant staff writer Monica Polanco is with former Congressman and Republican U.S. Senate candidate Rob Simmons and she filed this report from the field.

Rob Simmons held court at his home in North Stonington while awaiting the primary results.

 

 A smattering of friends and relatives dined on gouda, strawberries and other light snacks while Simmons addressed a crowd of reporters in his living room for 45 minutes.

 

Simmons,  a former CIA agent and congressman, seemed relaxed as he gave an overview of the events leading up to the primary.

 

It was two years ago, Simmons said, that he and his family gathered on their living room couch to discuss his bid to succeed then Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd, a political titan.

 

At the time, Simmons was wrapping up his duties as business advocate, then-Senator Barack Obama had been elected president and Democrats had won seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Political observers, Simmons said, were "aghast" that he would challenge Dodd, who ultimately abandoned his bid for reelection.

 

But Simmons said that in April 2009, a Quinnipiac University poll showed he had a competitive edge over Dodd, sparking a "wave of interest across the country."

Simmons said interest in the race diminished after Dodd dropped out and that he "narrowly" lost his party's support during the Republican convention this spring.

Simmons, who was criticized for curtailing his campaign after the convention, likened the decision to a military maneuver that he said allowed him to avoid an "expensive and divisive" primary while his wealthy competitor, Linda McMahon, spent millions of her own money on the campaign.

 

Simmons said a poll showed that his numbers actually rose after his decision, and that a wide spectrum of people, including Ann Coulter and Lowell Weicker, lined up behind him.

 

Simmons said August primaries should be eliminated because they occur when many voters are on vacation.

"The system is not structure properly," he said.

 

He also said he disagreed with the law that allows state level political candidates to receive state funding while federal level candidates must raise their own money.

 

"It's a very difficult circumstance when the most I can get is $7,200," he said, versus McMahon's multi-mllion dollar war chest.

 

Democrat Dannel Malloy, Republican Tom Foley Ahead In Early Results; Lamont Needs Big New Haven Turnout

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Democrat Dannel Malloy and Republican Tom Foley are ahead in the early results in their respective primaries.

Most of the votes still need to be counted, but Malloy and Foley have been ahead since the results started pouring in.

Malloy was holding a 58 percent to 42 percent lead with 25 percent of the precincts reporting, statewide. The polling places represented so far are mostly in small towns, spread throughout the state. Lamont had expected to poll well in cities and large towns, especially in and around Hartford and New Haven.

But in an ominous sign for Lamont, 10 of 35 New Haven precincts are in, and Malloy leads, 1,728 to 1,507.

At Malloy headquarters, reporter Matthew Kauffman reports:

An hour after the polls closed, Malloy was still holed up in a room at the Residence Inn, while increasingly raucous supporters filed into the City Steam Brewery, munching on meatballs, quesadillas, sliders and ravioli, and watching early returns on a large-screen TV.
 
Town-by-town numbers trickled into the press room, typically showing Malloy with a lead, although Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy's chief strategist, said it appeared Malloy had lost the machine vote in Bridgeport by fewer than 80 votes.
 
"It's looking good so far," Occhiogrosso said with a non-committal air. "It's still early."

The mood among the Lamont crowd

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With Malloy holding a 57 percent lead to Lamont's 43 percent, murmers of "It's not good" are rippling through the Ned Lamont headquarters at Testo's Restaurant in Bridgeport.

Connecticut Primaries: Underticket Results

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Lt. Governor

Nancy Wyman, nominated lieutenant governor, Connecticut

 

Attorney General

Martha Dean, GOP, nominated Attorney General, Connecticut.

 

Secretary of State

Denise Merrill, Dem, nominated Secretary of State, Connecticut.

 

Comptroller

Kevin Lembo, Dem, nominated Comptroller, Connecticut.


State House

Michael Zelasky, GOP, nominated State House, District 45, Connecticut.

Nitzy Cohen, GOP, nominated State House, District 136, Connecticut.

David Baram, Dem, nominated State House, District 15, Connecticut.

Robert Sampson, GOP, nominated State House, District 80, Connecticut.

Peggy Sayers, Dem, nominated State House, District 60, Connecticut.

Christie Carpino, GOP, nominated State House, District 32, Connecticut

 

 

Cappiello Says The News Is Good

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It's 9:30 p.m. and David Cappiello just addressed the crowd at the Crowne Plaza in Cromwell. The former state senator is working for U.S. Senate hopeful Linda McMahon's campaign.

Cappiello says the campaign does not have final numbers yet, but says it has preliminary numbers from 23 percent of the state's voting presincts. McMahon's ahead with 45.6 percent of the vote, he said, adding that Rob Simmons has 32.6 percent of the vote and Peter Schiff has just 21.8 percent.

The crowd cheered for McMahon, but expressed dislike for Simmons and Schiff.  

"We're not calling anything yet, but I wanted to tell you it's real good news," Cappiello said.


Schiff happens: Schiff supporters gather in Milford as the results come in

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Courant staff writer Mark Spencer is with supporters of Republican Peter Schiff in Milford and he filed this report.

 

Many of the Schiff volunteers who gathered Tuesday night at the Hilton Garden Inn in Milford got in to the campaign believing he could win.

 

Some knew of him from his books, television appearances as a financial pundit or his role as an economic advisor to the 2008 presidential campaign of Ron Paul.

 

Others came to him through the Tea Party. They saw him as the upstart candidate who could repeat the outsider -to -nominee transformation that Tea Party endorsed candidates have pulled off in other states.

 

Mike Cessario, 20, cast the first vote of his life two years ago for Ron Paul and spent Tuesday working for Schiff at a polling place in his hometown of Burlington.

"I was hopeful," Cessario said of the early days of the campaign. "Peter was the Tea Party endorsed candidate in Connecticut."

 

McMahon wins CT-SEN primary

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Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda E. McMahon, an extraordinarily wealthy political rookie who just one year ago was largely unknown outside of her industry, has emerged as the victor in Tuesday's three-way Republican primary.

By a decisive margin, McMahon defeated Republicans Rob Simmons and Peter Schiff. She now faces Democrat Richard Blumenthal in a November battle to fill the U.S. Senate seat long held by Christopher Dodd.

The race drew national attention as much for its lavish spending as for its bizarre, sideshow qualities. McMahon already plowed more than $21 million of her vast fortune into her campaign and has said she is prepared to spend up to $29 million more.

Her critics combed YouTube for embarrassing footage of her in the ring; one clip of her kicking a wrestler in the groin wound up in a Schiff ad. Opponents also attacked WWE for the sexually provocative nature of some of its content as well as its failure to prevent wrestlers from abusing steroids and other drugs.

But McMahon successfully portrayed herself as a savvy businesswoman who will bring a fresh approach to Washington. It was a message that resonated, especially in a year when many voters appear to have grown  weary of  D.C. insiders. She also assembled a skilled campaign team and top-notch opposition research. And she turned out to be a skilled campaigner who  connected with voters on the trail.

 

It's martini time in Stonington

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Rob Simmons lost the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate but he doesn't intend to run as an independent, he told reporters gathered outside his Stonington home tonight.

 When asked what he planned to do next, Simmons demurred.

"Rob will be mixing up a Martini tonight," he said.

 

McMahon Wins Senate Primary

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CROMWELL -- Linda McMahon urged Republicans to unite Tuesday to support her campaign for U.S. Senate.

Surrounded by family and supporters at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Tuesday, McMahon came on stage to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger," and gave her victory speech. She accepted the Republican Party's endorsement for the Senate seat that will be left vacant by Christopher Dodd.  

She likened the Republican Party to a family. "Families don't always get along and don't always agree, but, in the end, they do stand together," McMahon said.

McMahon beat former Congressman Rob Simmons and businessman Peter Schiff for the endorsement, and the win means she will go against Democrat Richard Blumenthal, the state's current attorney general, in November's election.

Until recently, McMahon, 61, of Greenwich, was chief executive officer of World Wrestling Entertainment and a State Board of Education member. She resigned from both posts to focus on her run for office.  

A Sign Of The Times

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This from Courant reporter Ezra Silk, who spent Tuesday night with the Dean campaign:

 

After Martha Dean was declared the victor in the Republican primary for state Attorney General, she thanked about 25 staffers, friends, and family members who were gathered with her at her Avon campaign headquarters.

As Dean distributed books on Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson to staffers as tokens of her appreciation, aide Craig Fishbein provoked laughter when he walked into the room carrying about five of her primary oppenent Ross Garber's campaign signs.

Dean's husband and campaign manager Malcolm McGough, grabbed the signs and deposited them outside.

McGough was arrested yesterday in connection with a dispute over the placement of Dean and Garber campaign signs in Canton.

Lt. Gov. Mike Fedele Concedes In Stamford

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Surrounded by somber supporters at the Italian Center, a country club located about five miles from his Stamford home, Lt. Gov. Michael Fedele conceded victory to Foley saying, "We fell short on our goal." But he said his campaign "put out a good message."

Fedele, with his family at his side, told his supporters they should be "very proud" and told them to "hold their heads high," noting a 35 point gap in the polls that he said dwindled in the remaining days of the election to about 5 or 4 points.

"That really speaks a lot," Fedele said.

Supporters said the Fedele campaign was on a roll in recent weeks and with a little more time, they believed he could have pulled out a victory since a string of political television ads appeared to help him gain some ground in last-minute polls.

Before Fedele was given the go-ahead to receive public money for his campaign, Fedele spokesman Chris Cooper said Foley had the airwaves to himself for eight months. But in the past three weeks, Cooper said the Fedele campaign was able to get its message out, broadcasting a television ad that blasted Foley's 1985 purchase and subsequent management of The Bibb Co., a Georgia textile manufacturing company. The plant went into bankruptcy a decade later and finally closed. Foley disputed the ad, saying it was staged.
Cooper said he thought the ad was effective and gave Fedele momentum in the final days of the election.

But it was not enough for a win today.

"This happened for a reason. It's not meant for Mike Fedele to move forward at this point," Fedele said.

Tom Foley's Victory Speech At Rocky Hill Marriott

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The Courant's Jenna Carlesso reports:

Tom Foley was met with thundering applause as he walked into a conference room at the Rocky Hill Marriott shortly after news of his victory in the Republican gubernatorial primary broke.

Scores of supporters chanted "go, Tom, go!" as he approached a podium to deliver his victory speech.

"This has really been a hard-fought, hard-won race," Foley said, addressing the crowd at about 11 p.m.

Foley thanked his supporters, all those who went to the polls Tuesday and his wife, Leslie, who was "tolerant" of Foley's hectic campaign schedule during their first year of marriage.

He also expressed gratitude toward opponents Michael Fedele and R. Nelson "Oz" Griebel, whose support Foley said he would be seeking in the future.

"Along the campaign trail the relationships have been very friendly, and very respectful," Foley said. "I hope to get their advice along the campaign, and their support after I'm elected governor."

Foley called himself a "consensus builder" who can "break through the partisanship" at the state Capitol.

"We simply cannot continue what we've been doing. We need to change attitudes in the culture of the legislature," he said. "I represent the change Connecticut wants and needs."

If elected governor, Foley said he would work to grow jobs, cut back on the size of state government and invest more heavily in education and Connecticut's economy.

The state needs "a responsible and helpful government, not one that ties us up," he said.


Democrats slam McMahon's WWE connection, Blumenthal takes the high road

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If there was any doubt about the Democratic strategy against Linda McMahon, tonight's blizzard of press releases erased it.

"Today the party of Bob Dole, Jack Kemp and Dick Lugar nominated a candidate who kicks men in the crotch, thinks of scenes of necrophilia as 'entertainment,' and runs an operation where women are forced to bark like dogs.  This is what has become of the once grand old party,"  Democratic National Committee National Press Secretary Hari Sevugan said.

"Connecticut Republicans today nominated a corporate CEO of WWE, who under her watch violence was peddled to kids, steroid abuse was rampant, yet she made her millions,'' U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Commitee. "In contrast, Dick Blumenthal has a long record of standing up for the people of Connecticut, especially protecting taxpayers and consumers against predatory practices from corporations. In November,  Connecticut voters will face a choice between a corporate CEO who looked out for herself, and a crusading Attorney General who has spent his career looking out for them.''

 

Dannel Malloy's Victory Speech In Hartford

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The Hartford Courant's Matthew Kauffman reports:

Shortly after 9:45 p.m., the crowd erupted in cheers as the image of Lamont appeared on television screens for his concession speech.
 
"I called up Dan a few minutes ago and I congratulated him," Lamont said, and from there, the howls from the crowd at Malloy's party drowned out the television speakers.
 
The volume then grew to a deafening roar as Malloy and Wyman arrived.
 
"Let me start by saying if I had known it was going to turn out this way, I would have gotten a bigger room," a smiling Malloy told the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd.
 
Malloy said he would work to unite Democrats and attract independents and Republicans, calling on voters to join him "if you believe that we can recreate our state, that we can grow jobs, that we can do battle with electric rates, that we can make sure that Connecticut becomes the success that we all dream it can be."
 

Dannel Malloy and Tom Foley Start New Campaigns Today

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Democrat Dannel Malloy and Republican Tom Foley were savoring victory Tuesday night with their primary victories in the governor's race.

Some details from the night from Hartford Courant reporters:

Conceding the election at his headquarters at a Bridgeport restaurant, Ned Lamont said Malloy "won a hard, disciplined campaign." Lamont added that he would "do everything we can to unite behind this Democratic campaign and win in November."

Lamont noted that his daughter received a robo-call from the Lamont campaign on her way to the restaurant.

"You have to keep a sense of humor through this," he said.

Lamont thanked his supporters by saying, "You all took a bit of a risk climbing on this campaign train."

Even months ago, Malloy always expressed confidence that he was not far behind.

When Malloy trailed by 17 points in the first Quinnipiac poll after winning the state party convention in May, both he and his strategist, Roy Occhiogrosso, said they initially believed they would be even further behind. Lamont had already launched his advertising campaign in April -- before the convention -- and Malloy had not yet received any public financing at that point. As such, he had no commercials on the air and fell behind in the polls.

Still, Malloy remained confident.

As the weeks went on, Malloy continued traveling around the state in a tireless campaign -- visiting union workers and talking at multiple forums in front of business and labor groups. He noted -- to anyone who would listen -- that he was closer in the polls to Lamont than he had been to DeStefano in 2006. That year, he lost by  fewer than 4,300 votes out of more than 266,000 cast.

Citing his first race when he defeated an incumbent Republican for mayor in 1995, Malloy said he had developed a pattern of trailing early and then speeding up at the end.

"We come from behind,'' he said in an interview.

A key group of supporters for Malloy on Tuesday were the state employee unions, who rallied to his side. Learning a lesson from his 2006 race, Malloy spoke frequently this year with the union leaders and their members. DeStefano had captured the support of the state AFL-CIO and 45 local unions in 2006, but he defeated Malloy by only 1.5 percentage points.

Besides support from the unions, Malloy benefited by his running mate choice of Wyman, whose lead over Glassman was larger than Malloy's lead over Lamont.

Tweet of the day

Winners and losers, election edition

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We all know who won last night, but the people whose names appeared on the ballot weren't the only ones with a lot at stake in yesterday's primary.

Here are a few of the unsung losers: 

Steven Winter: The Lamont tracker spent months trailing Dan Malloy with a videocamera. What did he have to show for it? A lot of wasted hours, it seems.

Joe Abbey: Lamont campaign manager is now 0-for-2 in high-stakes campaigns. (He also ran Creigh Deeds unsuccessful bid for the governor of Virginia in 2009.)

Doug Schwartz: The Q poll released Monday had Ned Lamont with 45 percent of the vote and Dan Malloy at 42 percent, a statistical dead heat. In reality, it wasn't even close: Malloy got 58 percent to Lamont's 42. 

Schiff-iacs: They were devoted and passionate, but in the end, Peter Schiff's large national following didn't appear to make much of a dent in Connecticut: he received just 22 percent of the vote. 

 

 

 

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