Get Ready For A George-Jorge Rematch

Republican State Sen. George Logan will run again against labor leader Jorge Cabrera, a Democrat he beat by only 77 votes two years, now that Cabrera has won a Democratic primary for his seat.

Cabrera declared victory Thursday evening in a Democratic primary against activist and Hamden Legislative Council member Justin Farmer.

Cabrera is now the Democratic candidate for the 17th State Senate District seat. He will face Republican incumbent State Sen. Logan in in the Nov. 3 general election, a rematch of the race the two ran against each other in 2018.

Cabrera declared victory Thursday evening after Hamden announced its final results from Tuesday’s Democratic primary between Cabrera and Hamden Legislative Councilman Justin Farmer.

Farmer conceded the race, handing Cabrera victory. About half an hour later, Cabrera sent out a press release declaring victory.

Tuesday evening, Cabrera appeared to be leading by a significant margin, but thousands of absentee ballots from Hamden had not yet been counted. Both campaigns said they would wait until official results arrived before making any declarations. On Wednesday, Cabrera pulled further ahead after Hamden counted most of its absentee ballots.

The district includes parts of Hamden, Woodbridge, and Naugatuck, and all of Derby, Ansonia, Bethany, and Beacon Falls. While Hamden is just one of seven towns, it is home to both candidates and comprises about 40 percent of the district’s electorate. With ballots counted in all the other towns in the district and Cabrera showing a significant lead outside of Hamden, the final result of the primary hinged on Hamden’s absentee ballots.

The final vote tallies Hamden sent to the state show Cabrera taking the town with 1,798 votes, edging out Farmer by just 18 votes. In total, Cabrera won the race with 4,723 votes, or 57 percent, an 1,198 lead over Farmer’s 3,525. He won every town, though the race was much tighter in Hamden than in other towns. (Those exact numbers are not official, and the vote count from Bethany used to calculate them is an unofficial count from election night because final numbers for the town have not been posted to the state’s website.)

The race featured two candidates who embrace the progressive label. They had the support of two different parts of the district’s Democratic Party. Farmer, a 26-year-old member of Hamden’s Legislative Council and a champion of a Green New Deal and other hallmark policies of the left flank of his party, got the backing of many youth-led progressive groups like the Sunrise Movement and Democratic Socialists of America. Carbera, a business representative at United Food and Commercial Workers’ Local 919, had the backing of a long list of state and local unions, as well as from many prominent politicians in Hamden and the Naugatuck Valley.

In his concession statement, Farmer congratulated Cabrera on his victory, but did not endorse him.

“Connecticut’s 17th Senate District is now left to choose between two campaigns, neither of which has comprehensive plans to address income inequality, end energy company monopolies, prioritize a safe return to school, address the housing crisis, end police violence, establish reproductive justice, end regressive taxation, build the valley fire school, address climate change, protect our waterways and open spaces, secure healthcare as a human right, end mass incarceration and prison gerrymandering, demand worker’s rights for everyone including those not currently unionized, and so much more,” the statement read.

“These issues affect nearly everyone in the 17th Senate District, and most in Connecticut. Most of us are not wealthy. Even those of us that are comfortable financially are being taken advantage of in a way that pulls vital resources away from our communities and funnels them into communities that already have more resources than they could ever expend. The greed must end. Residents of the 17th Senate District, Connecticut, and throughout the country must demand the rebuilding of these regressive systems. Voting is important, but voting without good trouble is not enough. This is true especially now, as community members struggle to navigate impending evictions, job loss, educational deficits, lack of access to healthcare, transportation that does not move, and an economy that divides us rather than lifts us up.”

Cabrera turned his attention to the general election ahead, in which he will once again face George Logan. In 2018, Cabrera lost to Logan in the general election by just 77 votes.

“I ran because our district deserves better,” Cabrera is quoted as saying in his campaign’s statement. ​“Whether it’s the underfunded public schools, the lack of investment in infrastructure and public transportation, or inadequate plans for economic development, the 17th district has been neglected by Hartford for too long. For the past four years, Senator Logan has consistently sided with corporations over the people. He voted against increasing the minimum wage, voted against paid family and medical leave and showed more concern about the bottom line of corporations like Eversource and Aetna than how families will pay next month’s bills. I am running because it’s time to put people first again. I’ve spent 25 years fighting for workers’ healthcare, wages, and workplace safety and it’s time to bring more of that experience up to Hartford.”

He also thanked Farmer for the race: ​“We all want the same thing for our families — whether it’s healthcare as right not a privilege for the wealthy and well connected, advancing the Green New Deal, or making sure our schools are fully funded and give our students the best opportunity to succeed, it’s clear Justin has fought hard to advance these issues and others to bring progress to the district. I look forward to working together with him for the people of the 17th.”

Cabrera told the Independent that he thinks the primary pushed him to work harder, if not on policy issues. ​“I just kept talking about the things that I’ve been talking about and what’s been my life’s work,” he said.

He said he would continue to do so as he faces Logan, who, in his words, ​“has put corporate interests above the people in his district over and over again.”

Logan said he disagrees with Cabrera’s assessment.

“I’ve consistently shown that I care about and have worked hard for the people of the 17th District,” he told the Independent over the phone Thursday evening after a few hours of knocking doors in Bethany.

He was just picking up dinner at a restaurant after the evening canvass when he took this reporter’s call.

“I have spent many hours going to all corners of the district to find out what’s important to the residents of the district, and I have done everything in my power to be their voice in Hartford. I’m going to cont to work hard to make Connecticut affordable for our residents. I think if you look at those that are supporting my opponent, these are all the folks that have put Connecticut in the dismal financial situation that we are in now. We need to go in a different direction, and I have been pushing for that, and I look forward to doing that in the future,” he said.

As Cabrera noted in his press release, the Democrats are one seat away from a veto-proof majority in the State Senate.

Minutes after Cabrera declared victory, Hamden Democratic Town Committee Chair Sean Grace sent out a press release endorsing him and calling on Democrats to unite around his ticket. Sean Grace, and much of the DTC which he now leads, is part of a wing of Hamden’s Democrats who have often supported Farmer as he clashes with the administration of Mayor Curt Leng and with longer-serving Democrats in town. Grace also ran a primary against Cabrera for the 17th Senate District in 2018, then endorsed Cabrera after he lost.