Republican challenger George Logan claimed victory over incumbent Democrat state Sen. Joseph Crisco Tuesday in a closely watched race that the state GOP had targeted in its effort to wrest control of the capitol from Democrats.
Assuming the numbers don’t change come Wednesday, the Logan victory was one of two Republican upset victories in the lower Valley on Election Day. Nicole Klarides-Ditria unseated incumbent Democrat Theresa Conroy in the 105th state House District.
Crisco, the incumbent Democrat, did not concede to Logan as of 10 p.m. Tuesday. Crisco referred reporters to a staffer. The staffer would not comment, but took a reporter’s contact information.
Crisco said he would not be commenting further as he sat with his wife and a small group of supporters inside 158 Main St. in Ansonia.
Unofficial results from Logan’s campaign showed him up roughly 2,000 votes — 20,388 to 18,398 — with only one precinct in Hamden yet to report.
Logan, an executive with the Aquarion water company, said his reason for victory was simple — people are fed up with Gov. Dannel Malloy.
“Folks in the 17th District and many folks in the rest of the state are just tired of Malloy’s policies and bad decisions,” Logan said.
With the governor’s approval rating at 24 percent in June, Logan’s strategy of linking Crisco with Malloy turned out to be a wise one.
The 17th State Senate district — which covers Ansonia, Derby, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Hamden, Naugatuck, and Woodbridge — has had a Republican bull’s‑eye on it since Crisco’s last re-election bid.
Logan’s victory Tuesday was a true upset. The GOP repeatedly failed to dislodge the popular 12-term incumbent. It was Logan’s first run at public office.
Even after a $4,000 fine in 2009 for violating election rules, Crisco beat Republican challenger Tamath Rossi by more than 4,000 votes, 16,666 to 12,292 in the 2010 election.
In his 2012 race he defeated Derby’s Tony Szewczyk by more than 15,000 votes.
But just two years later Phil Tripp, the president of Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen, lost to Crisco by fewer than 3,000 votes.
Crisco took the race in 2014 thanks largely to a 2,865-vote margin in Hamden, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 4 to 1.
Logan said that this time around he made it a point to start his campaign earlier than Tripp did.
He said he spent time in all seven towns in the district — but focused on Hamden.
“I had to show my face there quite a bit,” he said.
The effort worked out well.
Logan was still behind Crisco by about 1,500 votes in Hamden with a precinct yet to report late Tuesday, but that performance was better than Tripp’s from two years earlier.
Click the play button on the video below to see Logan talk to about 50 supporters at his campaign headquarters Tuesday night.
According to numbers from Logan’s campaign, the town-by-town breakdown was as follows:
- Ansonia: Logan 3,668, Crisco 2,920
- Beacon Falls: Logan 2,046, Crisco 1,169
- Bethany: Logan 1,892, Crisco 1,422
- Derby: Logan 2,612, Crisco 2,271
- Hamden (incomplete): Logan 3,478, Crisco 5,014
- Naugatuck: Logan 4,435, Crisco 2,787
- Woodbridge: Logan 1,793, Crisco 2,574
This year Crisco’s state senate seat was one of the biggest targets in the state GOP’s effort to take the state capitol back from Democrats.
Republicans declared Crisco-Logan a “race to watch” in 2016.
Lobbying groups poured money from companies like Walmart and Koch Industries into the race.
Mailers linking Crisco to Gov. Dannel Malloy, whose popularity has been sinking, were sent to the district’s voters.
“VOTING FOR JOE CRISCO?” asked one. “YOU’RE REALLY VOTING FOR GOVERNOR MALLOY.”
“JOE CRISCO, YOU’RE BUSTED,” another proclaimed, saying Crisco reneged on promises he made to voters.
Crisco’s campaign sent mailers to voters noting that Logan, an executive at the Aquarion Water Company, was tied too closely to corporations.
“Corporate special interests looking to profit off Connecticut’s working families don’t want you to vote for Joe Crisco because he stands up to them!”
