Republicans put forth a strong showing at the polls yesterday in Wilton, taking every local count even when the candidate lost the election state- or district-wide.

Locally, candidates who won both Wilton’s majority as well as their own wider races included Gail Lavielle (R), who was reelected to represent Wilton in the State House district 143; Toni Boucher (R), who won another term as State Senator for Wilton (district 26); Tom O’Dea (R), who was reelected to represent Wilton in the State House district 125; and Anthony DePanfilis (R), who was reelected as Wilton’s Probate Judge.

Lavielle gave credit to her constituents in a call with GOOD Morning Wilton following her victory:

“First off I want to thank the constituents in the 143rd for being so articulate and forthcoming during the four years I have been in office, because it is by being so that they have enabled me to do my job of representing them. I cannot do it without their input and constant feedback and I’m very grateful. The results and outcome of this race are indicative of two things:  the first is the dissatisfaction of the citizens of CT with the high taxes and high cost of living in CT and the sluggishness of the economy, which is lagging behind the rest of the country in the ability to make investments in areas like transportation and infrastructure. But second, it’s also something else:  the recognition by the residents of the 143rd district of the difference between disparagement, lies and distortion and a campaign based in truth and which focuses solely on the issues that matter most to them. I thank the people of the 143rd district for their recognition of that difference and it speaks very highly of them. Focusing on the issues is how I have demonstrated my respect for them.”

Toni Boucher’s campaign released a statement from their candidate:

“In the ultimate exercise of democracy, the people have spoken, and I’m honored and delighted that they’ve chosen, resoundingly, to re-elect me as their State Senator. I have always believed that in any election campaign it’s the voters who give the ultimate endorsement. Today, the voters gave me that endorsement, and it’s a responsibility I take very seriously. I truly believe that it’s the public who entrusts us with the privilege of representing them, and we must listen to their concerns, represent them honorably and conduct ourselves with integrity in order to maintain that trust.”

The strong Republican showing mirrored the nationwide trend of gains made by Republicans in significant races and seats around the country–not only did the GOP retain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, but they also gained control of the U.S. Senate, which bodes poorly for President Obama’s last two years on his final term. Some analysts looked at the midterm elections as a likely rebuke to the President.

Wilton is also the 4th most Republican town in the state, something  Wilton’s Democratic Town Committee chair Thomas Dec acknowledged. But despite this, he said, the Democrats made a strong showing in the district and overall.

“The Democrats had a strong presence in this campaign cycle, putting forward ideas on the future of our state and country. Our candidates ran respectable races and hats off to the Republicans for running a good race,” Dec told GOOD Morning Wilton.

As for statewide elections, as of 5 a.m. Wednesday some of the races still hadn’t been definitively called (although the New York Times had Malloy as the likely winner with 50.3% of the vote). Capping off a contentious campaign, Election Day also had its share of dispute in the race for CT’s Governor, when the Malloy campaign asked a judge to extend voting hours past 8 p.m. in Hartford because of reported irregularities at the polls there. The judge ruled that two polls could remain open longer, but only by 30 minutes. According to the Hartford Courant, while there wasn’t an ‘official’ winner declared between incumbent Dan Malloy and challenger Tom Foley, Malloy broke with tradition and declared himself the winner without receiving the traditional concession call from his opponent. Foley acknowledged he had ‘probably lost’ in a speech to his supporters.

One odd result:  the statewide tally in the CT State Constitutional ballot question fell short of the majority needed to pass. However, a majority of Wilton voters cast their ballots in favor of the measure. A ‘yes’ vote had been supported by Democrats.

Wilton-specific Results

During Tuesday’s voting, 6,952 Wilton voters cast ballots, for an overall 61-percent turnout. That’s a drop from the 68.4 percent that voted in the 2010 midterm elections, according to the CT Secretary of State’s website.

Wilton results were emailed to GOOD Morning Wilton at 11:20 p.m. by registrars Tina Gardner and Carole Young-Kleinfeld. Here’s how things shuffled out:

[UPDATE:  7:50 A.M. Statewide and district percentages have been updated as more precincts have been reported]

Governor/Lt. Governor

Dan Malloy/Nancy Wyman (D) (Incumbent)  Wilton:  2782;     Statewide: 51%

Tom Foley/Heather Somers (R)  Wilton:  4034    Statewide 48%

Jose Visconti/Chester Harris (Pet.) Wilton:  22    Statewide 1%

U.S. House of Representatives District 4

√ Jim Himes (D) (Incumbent)  Wilton: 3140;     Districtwide:  51%

Dan Debicella (R)  Wilton:  3687    Districtwide:  49%

State Senate District 26

Philip Sharlach (D)   Wilton:  1910;  District: 35%

√ Toni Boucher (R) (Incumbent)  Wilton:  4886;  District 65%

State House District 143

Keith Rodgerson (D)   Wilton:  1242; District: 33%

√ Gail Lavielle (R) (Incumbent)    Wilton:  3334;  District: 67%

State House District 125

√ Tom O’Dea (R) (Incumbent)   Wilton:  1597;  District: 88%

David Bedell (G)   Wilton:  286;  District 12%

Secretary of State

Denise Merrill (D) (Incumbent)  Wilton:  2642   Statewide 50%

Peter Lumaj (R)  Wilton:  3911    Statewide 47%

Michael DeRosa (G)  Wilton:  123    Statewide 2%

Treasurer

Denise Nappier (D) (Incumbent)   Wilton:  2627   Statewide 50%

Tim Herbst (R)    Wilton:  4051    Statewide 50%

Attorney General

√ George Jepsen (D) (Incumbent)  Wilton:  2767    Statewide:  56%

Kie Westby (R)   Wilton:  3813    Statewide  42%

Stephen Fournier (G)   Wilton:  93    Statewide 2%

Comptroller

Kevin Lembo (D) (Incumbent)  Wilton:  2427    Statewide:  52%

Sharon McLaughlin (R)   Wilton:  4110    Statewide:  47%

Rolf Maurer (G)  Wilton:  86    Statewide:  1.6%

 Judge of Probate

Darnell Crosland (D)   Wilton:  2039

√Anthony DePanfilis (R) (Incumbent)    Wilton:  4573

Constitutional Amendment Question

Yes  Wilton:  3327   Statewide 46.9%

√ No   Wilton:  2955   Statewide 53.1%