Sen. Herron Gaston moved one step closer to a second term in office Tuesday, securing the Democratic nomination for the 23rd Senate District.
Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox won a four-way race to become the Democratic candidate in Bridgeport’s other district, the 22nd.
Gaston, (D) Bridgeport, stopped Ernie Newton’s attempt to return to the Senate after a corruption conviction. Gadkar-Wilcox, meanwhile, ran on a platform that included election reform.
Both said their wins are about moving Bridgeport forward.
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“People are tired of the same old politics, they’re tired of the same behaviors,” Gaston said.
Results were still coming in Tuesday and City Councilman Newton said in a text after Gaston declared a decisive victory that he would hold a news conference on Wednesday morning.
Two of Gadkar-Wilcox's opponents – former mayor and lawmaker Bill Finch and City Councilman Scott Burns – conceded.
Decision 2024
Gadkar-Wilcox, a Quinnipiac University law professor, said her win shows “grassroots politics matters, that community engagement matters, that good government matters.”
A third primary between Rep. Andre Baker, D-Bridgeport, and City Councilman Eneida Martinez was too close to call Tuesday night.
Martinez secured the Democratic primary in the spring even though the State Elections Enforcement Commission referred her to prosecutors for further investigation in connection to possible ballot fraud in the 2023 mayoral race.
Both now shift their focus to the November election but have a huge advantage in heavily Democratic districts.
“As a freshman senator, along with my colleagues, we’ve been able to pass effective legislation, I've also helped to bring back hundreds of millions of dollars back to the City of Bridgeport and Town of Stratford,” Gaston said.
Gadkar-Wilcox hopes her message will continue to resonate with voters.
“We need to trust the people that we send up to Hartford, and that I will advocate for the things that I said I'll advocate for,” she said.
