Connecticut: GOP Flips State Senate Seat in a District Biden Won by 25 Points

In what could be an indicator of things to come in the 2022 mid-term election, the GOP flipped a state senate seat in a Connecticut special election on Tuesday night – the first flip for either party in 2021.

The Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) announced in an email:

State Republicans tonight delivered the first flip of a state legislative seat in a special election by either party in 2021, as Republican Ryan Fazio defeated liberal Democrat Alex Gevanter in Connecticut’s state Senate District 36 – a district Joe Biden won by more than 25% in 2020.

RSLC President Dee Duncan hailed the moment as a sign that the “people of Connecticut are sick and tired” of the Democratic Party’s radical agenda:

After holding the line in two Biden-won districts in New England early this year, our momentum continues tonight with the first successful flip of the 2021-2022 election cycle. Congratulations to Ryan Fazio on running a strong campaign. His victory demonstrates that the people of Connecticut are sick and tired of the radical tax and spend agenda coming from Democrats in Hartford and in Washington, D.C. They’re looking for common-sense leaders who will champion conservative policies that will revive the economy, create jobs, reduce regulations, lower taxes, and keep families safe.

With Democrats controlling Washington, it’s more important than ever that we have strong Republican leadership in the states. Tonight’s result is further evidence that Republicans are on offense this cycle, and the RSLC has no intention of slowing down when it comes to winning the tough fights ahead of us. The RSLC will continue to support state Republicans to ensure wins like this so that we can grow the future of our party and stop socialism from spreading to the states.

To illustrate the significance of tonight’s victory, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) told its supporters in a fundraising email that a loss in Connecticut’s state Senate District 36 would put all of the committee’s 2018 gains in jeopardy.

During the 2020 election cycle, Republicans wildly outperformed expert predictions when they flipped both legislative chambers in New Hampshire and held onto all of their 59 Republican-controlled chambers.

NEW: Republican @ryanfazio unofficially winning a critical CT Senate race in Greenwich, Stamford, and New Canaan@CTSenateGOP leader @21KevinKelly congratulating Fazio on the apparent win tonight: pic.twitter.com/6Bo79VmzN6

— John Craven (@johncraven1) August 18, 2021

Democrat @AlexisGevanter has now officially conceded the race

CT Senate still solidly in Democratic hands— 23-13. And special elections tend to draw older conservative voters. Still, this was a must-win for @CTGOP going into a 2022 race where the odds are stacked against them pic.twitter.com/WDgUMHgY8s

— John Craven (@johncraven1) August 18, 2021

In June, political experts were equally shocked when Republicans won the mayoral race in McAllen, Texas – a town that is 85% Latino and went to Hillary Clinton by 40 points in 2016.

“Javier Villalobos, McAllen City Commissioner and former chair of the Hidalgo County GOP, defeated his challenger, Veronica Whitacre, in the narrow mayoral race by just over 200 votes — 4,744 votes to her 4,538 votes,” Breitbart reported at the time.