Every four years, the president of the United States is elected. This year, the race to the White House has been one of the closest elections to date. However, voters who are mainly focused on the presidential race tend to forget the rest of the columns on the ballot.
So, what is really on the ballot?
Senate
Next to the presidential office is the U.S. Senate seat, which is elected every six years. The Democrat incumbent Chris Murphy is running against his Republican opponent, Matt Corey. Senator Murphy is running for his third term. Mr. Corey, a business owner, hopes to win the seat this November after previously running and losing to Murphy in 2018. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Chris Murphy: https://chrismurphy.com/
Matt Corey: https://coreyforsenate.com/
House of Representatives
Every two years, the members of the House of Representatives are reelected. The representative serves the people and their district. Connecticut has five congressional districts, Fairfield being in the fourth district. The incumbent, Congressman Jim Himes, is running for the seat through the Democratic party. His opponent, Dr. Micheal Goldstein, is representing the Republican party. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Jim Himes: https://www.himesforcongress.com/
Micheal Goldstein: https://goldsteinforcongress.com/
State Senate
On a state level, the legislature is split into the Senate and the House of Representatives. For ten years, Senator Tony Hwang has held the Senate seat. This year, Democrat Robert Blanchard hopes to flip the seat. Blanchard has previously worked as the chief of staff for Comptroller Scanlon and Governor Lamont. He is running his platform to bring a new generation of leadership to the upper chamber in Hartford. Meanwhile, Hwang has served for the last 14 years representing Fairfield as a state representative in the 134th district and currently as the state senator from the 28th district. The two are competing to represent all of Fairfield, Easton, Newtown, and part of Bethel for the next two years. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Rob Blanchard: https://www.robblanchardct.com/
Tony Hwang: https://tonyhwang.org/
State House
Just like in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Connecticut House has a Speaker of the House, Matt Ritter, a representative from the 1st district in Hartford. The House also has a majority leader, Jason Rojas, who represents the 9th district, which comprises East Hartford and Manchester. In the state House, representatives work in committees, sometimes in joint committees with the state senate, to propose legislation. Currently, Democrats have a majority in both the House and Senate. The town of Fairfield is split up into three districts: 132nd, 133rd, and 134th. If you are unsure of your district, visit https://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/menu/cgafindleg.asp .
132nd District
In the 132nd district, Incumbent Jennifer Leeper is seeking reelection for her third term in office. In town, Leeper has worked with community groups to fight back against United Illuminating’s proposed pole plan and has worked to pass a bill to reform lockdown drills in schools. If elected, her opponent, Republican Alexis Harrsion, seeks to reform the 8-30g law, lower the cost of living, and defend local zoning. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Jennifer Leeper: https://www.leeperforfairfield.com/
Alexis Harrsion: https://alexisharrisonct.com/
133rd District
In the 133rd district, Incumbent Cristin McCarthy Vahey is seeking reelection for her seventh term in office. Currently, McCarthy Vahey serves as the Planning and Development Committee Chair. She worked with the Government Administration and Elections Committee leadership to expand voter accessibility, restoring voting rights to those on parole and giving the CT voters the chance to vote on two Constitutional Amendments. Her opponent, Chris Verras, hopes to defend public safety and local zoning and lower taxes if elected. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Cristin McCarthy Vahey: https://www.cristinmccarthyvahey.com/
Chris Verras: https://www.chrisverras.com/
134th District
In the 134th district, Incumbent Sarah Keitt is seeking reelection for her second term in office. In Hartford, Keitt is the Vice Chair of the Committee on Children and has fought for LGBTQ+ children’s rights in the legislature. She also has advocated for an expanded child tax credit. The Working Families Party and other Independent Parties have also endorsed Keitt. Her opponent, Melissa Longo, is seeking to address affordability in the state. Longo owned a small Westport business and is serving her second term on the Fairfield RTM. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Sarah Keitt: https://www.keittforct2024.com/
Melissa Longo: https://longoforstaterep.com/
Registrar of Voters
The Office of the Registrars of Voters is a part-time town department that maintains the records of Fairfield voters and administers all election events following state and federal law.
The Registrars are elected to four-year terms in Presidential election years. One Registrar is elected from each of the major parties. Mattew Wagner (D) and current registrar Cathy Politi are running for reelection. Their websites can be found here:
Cathy Politi: https://www.fairfieldrtc.com/cathy-politi
Judge of Probate
The Probate Court system handles legal matters about affairs of the deceased, estates, some parts of family law, conservatorship, and other issues requiring certain legal decisions.
Fairfield residents vote for Judge of Probate once every four years. Probate judges are the only members of the state Judicial Branch that are elected. Candidates for Judge of Probate must have been a lawyer and certified through the Connecticut bar. In May, Gov. Ned Lamont ordered special elections after six probate judges announced their retirement, including Fairfield. Thus, there is a special election to elect a new judge. Democrat Kathy Caulfield and Republican Dan Ford both seek election. Their campaign websites can be found here:
Kathy Caulfield: https://www.kathyforfairfield.com/
Dan Ford: https://www.fairfieldrtc.com/dan-ford
Constitutional Amendment Referendum
Not only are candidates on the ballot, there is a vote on the question of a constitutional amendment. Voters will say “yes” or “no” to: Shall the Constitution of the State be amended to permit the General Assembly to allow each voter to vote by absentee ballot? Under the current state constitution, qualified voters may absentee vote only if they are unable to vote
in person at their polling place on election day due to (1) absence from their city or town, (2) sickness or physical disability, or (3) their religious beliefs prohibiting secular activity on that day. If this amendment is approved, the state constitution would no longer limit the reasons why absentee voting may be used. For more, visit the website below:
https://portal.ct.gov/sots/election-services/proposed-constitutional-amendment-on-the-2024-ballot
For more information, visit the CT Secretary of State’s voter guide: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/sots/electionservices/2024/voter_guide/voter_guide_2024_general_election.pdf?rev=20504709c3f34631a5a9a10d30567f6c&hash=EC06CFBE3657E3432D1C4F2BBE885AC2
