House Speaker Chris Donovan was unanimously elected Thursday night by his caucus to continue as speaker.
In addition, veteran Rep. J. Brendan Sharkey was elected in a first-ballot victory as the new House majority leader - succeeding outgoing Rep. Denise Merrill, who will be the next secretary of the state.
Sharkey, a graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Connecticut law school, was originally running against fellow Democrats Steve Fontana and Andrew Fleischmann, among others. The other lawmakers dropped out before the vote.
Fontana, however, lost in his re-election bid on Tuesday night that Donovan described as a "shock.'' Fontana has served in the legislature since 1997 - one of the longer-serving members at a time of turnover in the General Assembly. Fontana was among the best-known legislators and often led the floor fights on complicated legislation.
Sharkey started in the legislature in January 2001, and he serves as the co-chairman of the planning and development committee.
Technically, Donovan must be elected by the full House when the legislature reconvenes in January. But since he has the support of the full caucus, he is guaranteed the required 76 votes needed to return as speaker.