Zoe Berg, Yale Daily News

Voters will decide on a slew of local legislative races and a key voting access provision in the upcoming midterm elections scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8.

On the ballot are candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, New Haven’s representative to Congress, U.S. Senator, state senator, state representative, secretary of the state, treasurer, comptroller, attorney general and probate judge. Polls open at 6 a.m. and will close at 8 p.m.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” said Patricia Rossi, vice president of advocacy for the League of Women Voters of Connecticut. “We all have responsibility and obligation to ensure that functioning democracies are around for our kids and grandkids.”

The governor’s race is a rematch of the 2018 election between incumbent governor Democrat Ned Lamont against Republican businessman Bob Stefanowski. In 2018, Lamont won by 3.2 percent or roughly 50,000 votes. Polls currently have Lamont up from anywhere between 10-15 points. 

Stefanowski argues that Democratic governance at the state, local and federal level has led to a spike in inflation and crime. Lamont argues that his administration shepherded the state through the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining financial stability.

Lamont and Stefanowski have both spent large sums of their own money with Lamont having spent $14 million and Stefanowski spending $10 million.

Lieutenant governor Susan Bysiewicz is running on a joint ticket with Lamont. The Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate is Laura Devlin. 

Three candidates from New Haven are running unopposed – the Democratic incumbent state representatives Toni Walker in the 93rd District, Robyn Porter in the 94th District and Juan Candelaria in the 95th District. 

This year, Democrats face significant challenges to election success, with President Biden’s approval ratings sinking below 50 percent and persistent inflation driving pessimism about the state of the economy. 

“I definitely think that there is the possibility that Republicans could make gains in the state legislature, because of the broader national conditions,” Dancey said. “There are likely to be competitive races up and down the ballot in Connecticut, even if it’s historically a blue state.”

Incumbent Democratic state senators Martin Looney and Gary Winfield will face off against Republican opponents in Tuesday’s election. 

Looney, who has spent 29 years as a senator for Connecticut’s District 11, which represents the communities of New Haven, Hamden & North Haven, faces Republican Steve Orosco. Orosco is the founder and CEO of Smash Global — a company that organizes MMA fighting events.

Gayle Alberda, an assistant professor of politics and public administration at Fairfield University, told the News that she expects that Looney will win since incumbency increases name recognition, likely making Looney more well-known to voters. 

In District 11, Winfield faces Republican John Carlson, a fourth-grade teacher at John Winthrop School in Bridgeport. Last year, Mayor Justin Elicker defeated Carlson in the city’s 2021 mayoral election. Carlson was the city’s first Republican mayoral candidate in nearly 15 years.

For the Connecticut State House of Representatives, Democratic incumbent Roland Lemar faces Republican Eric Mastroianni for the 96th District, which represents parts of New Haven and East Haven.

Lemar was first elected to his seat in District 96 in 2010, and served on the New Haven Board of Alders prior to joining the Connecticut state legislature. Mastroianni, according to his personal Facebook account, is the CEO and owner of Alpha Recon Protective Service, LLC, a personal protection service, and the co-chair of the New Haven Republicans. 

Connecticut State House of Representatives races in the 92nd District and the 97th District are also contested. 

New Haveners will also be voting on if Connecticut will be joining the majority of states in allowing early voting come next year. 

“Expanding voting options is something that’s very positive for New Haven and given some of our experiences in the past with having long lines on Election Day, that having early voting will take some of the pressure off,” said Aaron Goode, founder of the New Haven Votes Coalition.

In the 92nd District, which represents parts of New Haven, Democratic incumbent Patricia Dillon faces petition candidate Lesley Heffel McGuirk, a data strategy manager for the Yale Alumni Association. In the 97th District, which represents parts of New Haven, Democratic incumbent Alphonse Paolillo faces Republican Anthony Acri. 

Connecticut’s secretary of the state is on the ballot — a position that has attracted newfound attention after the 2020 general elections. 

Alberda said that Connecticut’s secretary of the state election has particular significance in the current political climate since the secretary chiefly oversees election administration, including running the elections, supervising the counting of ballots and certifying results.

In the aftermath of the 2020 general elections, outspoken deniers of the results of the presidential election  have begun to run for secretary of state positions nationwide.

In Connecticut, Democrat Stephanie Thomas, a Connecticut state representative since 2021, faces Republican Dominic Rapini for Secretary of State. Rapini has connections to the organization Fight Voter Fraud, Inc, which filed unfounded claims of voter fraud to the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission. 

“This will likely work against Rapini as polls show that threats to democracy is a top three issue for Connecticut voters,” Alberda wrote in an email to the News. 

Incumbents dominating national races

New Haveners will also be deciding their representatives for U.S. Congress on Nov. 8. Similar to the state races, experts expect that incumbents will win most high-profile races on the ballot next week. 

“Republicans would really like to be able to say that they picked up a seat in New England this cycle, but there are other opportunities for that,” said Logan Dancey, an associate professor of government at Wesleyan University. “DeLauro has been in office for several decades. Blumenthal has won his elections for Senate fairly comfortably, historically.”

An Oct. 25 poll by Emerson University-WTNH-The Hill found that Democratic incumbent Gov. Ned Lamont leads his opponent, Republican Bob Stefanowski, by 11 percentage points. 

Dancey said it seems that Lamont is more popular in this current race compared to his 2018 gubernatorial race, when he also ran against Stefanowski. Lamont seems to be in a better position than in 2018, Dancey said. 

However, the national political climate will present challenges for other Democrats on the Connecticut ballot. 

Historically, the president’s party performs worse in midterm elections, according to Dancey. He said a similar outcome is expected for the Democratic party this year, given voter concerns about the state of the economy. 

Dancey does not expect any surprising results that significantly differ from what the polls show in this year’s races to represent Connecticut in the U.S. Congress. 

Incumbent Democrat Rosa DeLauro faces Republican Lesley Denardis, a professor of political science at Sacred Heart University, for the Connecticut 3rd Congressional District’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. If reelected, DeLauro would serve her 17th term in Congress.

Alberda said that DeLauro should be able to win her re-election. Dancey also agreed, pointing to DeLauro’s long tenure in office as an advantage.

“DeLauro has been in office for several decades. I think she’s built up a reputation,” Dancey said. “There isn’t the same level of investment from the party, the same level of campaign spending going on, which reflects the fact that it is seen as a much safer race for Democrats.”

For one of Connecticut’s seats in the U.S. Senate, incumbent Democrat Richard Blumenthal faces Republican Leora Levy. Alberda expects Senator Blumenthal to likely win reelection as well. She noted that Blumenthal won his previous election in 2016 by over 450,000 votes. 

Different time next year? 

Connecticut voters will also decide whether the state should allow early voting next year. Voters will be able to say “Yes” or “No” to the Early Voting Amendment measure. A “yes” vote supports amending the Constitution to permit the General Assembly to provide for early voting.

If the amendment passes, the Connecticut state legislature will be able to determine the days, times and places for early voting in Connecticut next year. 

Currently, Connecticut is one of four states nationwide that do not allow for early voting. The other three are Alabama, Mississippi and New Hampshire. 

Though a similar effort failed in 2014, New Haven organizers are hopeful about this measure’s success. 

Goode said that proponents of the measure have been visiting community management teams, high schools and community forums throughout New Haven to spread the word about the measure. 

“The education effort has been pretty strong, pretty robust around the ballot question, and I think it will do very well in New Haven,” Goode said. 

Efforts to increase awareness of the ballot measure have mostly concentrated on small settings, like neighborhood and community meetings, and have met “very positive” responses from people, Goode said. He said that  many of the people were not aware that the question would even be on the Nov. 8 ballot. 

In 2014, almost 70 percent of New Haven voters supported the ballot measure, Goode said. He expects that an even higher margin will support the measure this time around. 

“Our position is that if people know to look for the question and understand what it means, that all it does is allow the Legislature to create a plan for Early Voting in Connecticut– no more than that–it will pass,” Patricia Rossi, the vice president for advocacy and public issues of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut, wrote in an email to the News. “It makes sense to people that providing more than 14 hours on the second Tuesday after the first Monday in November to vote is a good thing.  Eligible voters want their voices to be heard and having more time to vote helps them do that.”

In 2022, Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 8.