Incumbents Coast in Bethwood, with One Surprising Exception

It was a perfect fall day -- a little chilly at first, but not enough to keep voters away from the polls.

And voters, for the most part, came to polling places in Bethany and Woodbridge to return their local elected officials to office. As they did nationally, Democrats prevailed more often than not -- although Bethany went for Linda McMahon, who lost statewide, by a slim margin, and Republican Themis Klarides took Woodbridge.

Then there was Lezlye Zupkus. The underdog eked out an apparent win in the 89th congressional district, including Bethany, Cheshire and Prospect, thanks to high turnout in her hometown of Prospect. (Bethany voters swung toward incumbent Vickie Nardello.)

"We are excited, and I'm looking forward to helping to put Connecticut back on the right track in being a voice for the citizens of the 89th district," Zupkus told Patch after her apparent win.

Nardello had pushed hard on the last day, appearing in Bethany with re-elected Third District US. Representative Rosa DeLauro.

Longtime state senator Joe Crisco also seems to have coasted to victory over Tony Szewczyk in most or all of the seven towns making up the 17th district, saying he'd come out on top in towns where he'd trailed in 2010.

11:00 p.m.

Vote tallies from registrars:

Bethany

Presidential

Mitt Romney (R) 1,536

Barack Obama (D) 1,615

Gary Johnson (Libertarian) 25

Rocky Anderson (Independent) 14
Jill Stein (G) 1 

U.S. Senate

Linda McMahon 1,591

Chris Murphy 1,500

Third Congressional District

Rosa DeLauro (D) 1,940

Wayne Winsley (R) 1,168

State Senate

Joe Crisco (D) 1,904

Tony Szewczyk (R) 1,152

89th District State Representative

Vickie Nardello (D) 1,592

Lezlye Zupkus (R) 1,463

Woodbridge

Presidential

Mitt Romney (R) 2,104

Barack Obama (D) 3,018

Gary Johnson (Libertarian) 33

Rocky Anderson (Independent) 9

U.S. Senate

Linda McMahon (R) 2,025

Chris Murphy (D) 3,040

Third Congressional District

Rosa DeLauro (D) 3,516

Wayne Winsley (R) 1,502

State Senate

Gayle Slossberg (D) 463

Mike DeGrego (R) 330

114th District State Representative

Themis Klarides (R) 2,860

Aldon Hynes (D) 2,095

Report, 9:45 p.m.

Rep. Themis Klarides are projected to win her re-election bid.

Lezlye Zupkus is projected to defeat Vickie Nardello by 269 votes, but has not declared victory, saying Cheshire has not reported absentee ballots.

"We're very excited, to say the least. I just want to get the final numbers."

The numbers in that race as reported by Nardello's campaign and registrars:

Bethany

• Nardello 1592
• Zupkus 1463

Prospect

• Zupkus 2845
• Nardello 2090

Cheshire

• Nardello 2114
• Zupkus 1757

Update: 6:45 p.m.

Polling is winding down for the day, with only a little over an hour left. But the after-work rush is in full force.

And polling numbers are looking healthy in this year's election.

In Woodbridge, officials report 3,988 votes had been cast as of 6 p.m. in the 17th district senatorial race between Joe Crisco and Tony Szewczyk, and 693 votes in the 14th district race between Gayle Slossberg and Mike DeGrego.

In Bethany, registrar Will Brinton says he's counted 2,844 votes.

Absentee ballots are being recorded, and officials say many have already been counted.

Update: 2:45 p.m.

In Bethany, current vote totals are 1,796 as of 2 p.m., according to registrar Will Brinton. That's trailing turnout from the last presidential election. Four years ago at this time, Brinton says, totals were at 2,015.

"I think it will [pick up in the late afternoon], but I don't know if we'll going to reach what we had before," he said. "We'll see."

Update: 12:20 p.m.

Voting is "incredibly hectic" in Woodbridge, says moderator Robert Berke.

"This is an extraordinary turnout," said Berke. Voting normally starts strong in the morning and finishes strong after 5 p.m. "But this has been steady all day," he says.

As of late morning, 2,187 residents have cast their votes in the polling place at Center Gymnasium.

"There are a lot of contested elections -- very close," said Berke. "People are very passionate about their positions, and they're certainly showing it in the numbers."

Update: 10:25 a.m.

Registrar Will Brinton says voting is slower this year, but that despite the cold weather and an election on the heels of a storm and power outages, he thinks it's a "beautiful day" to vote.

"It's definitely steady," he says.

As of 8 a.m., turnout was trailing 2008 by 130 votes. Vinton reported 544 had voted at that point. He warned the town may experience lower numbers of absentee ballots due to days lost during the storm.

Original Story

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Good morning, and welcome to Election Day 2012!

Today, Bethwood residents go to the polls to choose a president, a U.S. Senator, a U.S. Representative from the 3rd Congressional District, state representatives for the 89th and 114th districts, and state Senators in the 14th and 17th Districts.

See below for information on where to cast your ballot and the list of candidates. We've also included how Bethwood voted in 2008, the year of the last presidential election, and 2010, the last mid-term election.

Read it over, then visit your local polling station between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. to make your voice heard! And be sure to check back with Patch for updates throughout the day, including the announcement of the winners as soon as votes are tallied tonight.

Bethwood Polling Places

Polls open at 6 a.m. and will remain open until 8 p.m.

• Bethany: Town Hall
• Woodbridge: Center Gymnasium

U.S. Senate

Chris Murphy (D) and Linda McMahon (R) are vying for the seat vacated by Joe Lieberman. (Click on "U.S. Senate" for updates, results and reactions.)

Third Congressional District

The challenger, Wayne Winsley (R), is hoping to unseat incumbent Rosa L. DeLauro (D) (Click on "Third Congressional District" for updates, results and reactions.)

17th State Senatorial District

• Joseph Crisco, Jr. (D): Crisco is a Woodbridge resident and has served in the State Senate since 1993, representing the district which includes Ansonia, Beacon Falls, Bethany, Derby, Hamden, Naugatuck and Woodbridge. He is currently Chief Deputy President Pro Tem/Federal Relations Liason and serves as Chair of the Insurance Committee. Read a detailed Patch interview with Crisco.
  
• Tony Szewczyk (R): Szewczyk is a former member of the Derby Board of Alderman, the chair of Derby's Republican Town Committee and a retired architect.  he said the two most serious issues facing Connecticut are jobs and budget reform: "We must set the economic stage to attract new jobs and retain existing jobs."

89th State Representative District 

• Vickie Nardello (D): Nardello has served as a state representative since 1994 in the district, representing Bethany, Cheshire and Prospect. She has served as co-chair of the Energy & Technology Committee since the 2009 legislative session, and has made public health a focus, holding a Master's Degree in Health Education.
• Lezlye Zupkus (R): A Prospect resident, Zupkus is originally from Mississippi. She has previously served as a Planning & Zoning commissioner in Prospect and as fundraising coordinator for the M. Jodi Rell campaign. Zupkus has picked up endorsements including the Waterbury Republican-American and Prospect Mayor Robert Chatfield. 

114th State Representative District 

• Aldon Hynes (D): Hynes is a social media manager for a community health center and a Woodbridge resident. He is a newcomer to running for political office, but previously worked on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign and Ned LaMont's 2006 Senatorial campaign. He has received an endorsement from the Amity High School Young Democrats.
• Themis Klarides (R): Seven-term incumbent Themis Klarides represents Orange, Woodbridge and Derby. Klarides boasts a 99% voting record in the House of Representatives and serves as Deputy Republican Leader.
  
  For more on the 114th State Senatorial District race, see clips from Patch's Oct. 22 debate between Hynes and Klarides.

17th State Senatorial District

(See above)

14th State Senatorial District

• Gayle Slossberg (D): Incumbent Gayle Slossberg has held her office since 2005, representing Orange, Milford and West Haven. Woodbridge is a new addition to the district following redistricting. Earlier this year she was a key vote in abolishing the death penalty.
• Michael DeGrego (R): A newcomer to the political scene, Michael DeGrego received the backing of Republicans last month. “These are the folks looking for jobs, running out of unemployment because Connecticut tweaked the numbers to make it look better than it is,” he said in an announcement. Read Patch's profile of DeGrego.

Still Not Sure Who You're Voting For?

Check out our Election Guide to see coverage of candidate debates, updates from the campaign trail, opeds, letters and more.

(D=Democrat; R=Republican; G=Green; I=Independent; WF=Working Families; CL=Connecticut for Lieberman; WI=Write In)

PRESIDENT

• Obama-Biden (D) — 1,781 votes
• McCain-Palin (R) —  1,525 votes
• Nader and Gonzalez — 50 votes
• McKinney and Clemente -- 1 vote

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 3rd DISTRICT

• Rosa DeLauro (D) — 1,933 votes
• Boaz ItsHaky (R) — 970 votes
• Ralph Ferrucci (G) — 91 votes
• Rosa DeLauro (WF) -- 214 votes

89th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

• Vickie Nardello (D) — 2,049 votes
• Martin Atkins (R) — 1,065 votes

17th SENATE DISTRICT

• Joseph Crisco Jr. (D) — 1,776 votes
• Tamath Rossi (R) — 1,247 votes

(D=Democrat; R=Republican; G=Green; I=Independent; WF=Working Families; CL=Connecticut for Lieberman; SA=Socialist Action)

U.S. SENATE

• Linda McMahon (R) — 1,272 votes
• Richard Blumenthal (D) — 1,232 votes
• Richard Blumenthal (WF) — 53 votes
• Warren Mosler (I) — 43 votes
• John Mertens (CL) — 13 votes

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 3rd DISTRICT

• Rosa DeLauro (D) — 1,363 votes
• Jerry Labriola (R) — 2,792 votes
• Rosa DeLauro (WF) — 58 votes
• Charles Pillsbury (I) — 40 votes

89th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

• Vickie Nardello (D) — 1,396 votes
• Katheryn Brown (R) — 1,137 votes

17th SENATE DISTRICT

• Joseph Crisco, Jr. (D) — 1,333 votes
• Tamath Rossi (R) — 1,178 votes
• Joseph Crisco, Jr. (WF) -- 47

(D=Democrat; R=Republican; G=Green; I=Independent; WF=Working Families; CL=Connecticut for Lieberman; WI=Write In)

PRESIDENT

• McCain-Palin (R) —  2,053 votes
• Obama-Biden (D) — 3,315 votes
• Nader and Gonzalez — 45 votes

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 3rd DISTRICT

• Rosa DeLauro (D) — 3,571 votes
• Boaz ItsHaky (R) — 1,207 votes
• Rosa DeLauro (WF) -- 147 votes
• Ralph Ferrucci (G) — 125 votes

114th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

• Themis Klarides (R) — 2,689 votes
• Marc Garofalo (D) — 2,443 votes

17th SENATE DISTRICT

• Joseph Crisco Jr. (D) — 3,419 votes
• Tamath Rossi (R) — 1,489 votes
• Joseph Crisco Jr. (WF) -- 99 votes

(D=Democrat; R=Republican; G=Green; I=Independent; WF=Working Families; CL=Connecticut for Lieberman; WI=Write In)

U.S. SENATE

• Richard Blumenthal (D) — 2,425 votes
• Linda McMahon (R) — 1,659 votes
• Richard Blumenthal (WF) — 46 votes
• John Mertens (CL) — 31 votes
• Warren Mosler (I) — 26 votes

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 3rd DISTRICT

• Rosa DeLauro (D) — 2,581 votes
• Jerry Labriola (R) — 1,460 votes
• Rosa DeLauro (WF) -- 62 votes
• Charles Pillsbury (I) — 60 votes

114th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT

• Themis Klarides (R) -- 2,173 votes
• Joshua Hershman — 1,971 votes

17th SENATE DISTRICT

• Joseph Crisco Jr. (D) — 2,519 votes
• Tamath Rossi (R) — 1,535 votes
• Joseph Crisco Jr. (WF) -- 58 votes

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