Despite not all ballots having been officially counted yet, Wilton resident Kim Healy has claimed victory in the Republican primary race to challenge Democratic incumbent Will Haskell this November for the 26th District state senate seat.
In a statement on her website posted Wednesday, Aug. 12, Healy wrote, “The results for the 26th District have been released, and we are overjoyed to report that we were victorious.”
Her primary challenger, Bethel resident William Duff, conceded to Healy earlier Wednesday.
“Congratulations to Kim Healy for State Senate on her victory last night,” he wrote in a post to his campaign’s Facebook page. “Although the vote last night was not what I hoped for I am looking forward to working with the Connecticut Republican Party to bring about change.”
Healy had been the GOP’s endorsed candidate going into Tuesday’s primary.
Ballots are still being counted as Gov. Ned Lamont extended the deadline for when absentee ballots can be accepted. Because of possible delays caused by Tropical Storm Isaias, Lamont issued an executive order extending the deadline for voters to turn in absentee ballots, ordering they must be accepted if postmarked by Aug. 11 and received by Aug. 13.
Current preliminary results from Wilton’s registrars of voters show that Healy received 687 Wilton votes to Duff’s 269. According to Ballotpedia, preliminary results from the other towns in the 26th District show Healy in the lead overall (2,352 v. 1,678), although final results will depend on additional absentee ballot counts (both Ballotpedia and The New York Times put Healy at 58% over Duff at 42% as of Wednesday morning; other towns’ preliminary results below are from the Wilton Bulletin, minus Westport):
Bethel: Healy–168; Duff–491
Ridgefield: Healy–371; Duff–317
Westport: Healy–TBD; Duff–TBD
New Canaan: Healy–395; Duff–113
Weston: Healy–62; Duff–58