Stratford Election Results: Young Leads, State Rep Rematch Close

STRATFORD, CT — State Rep. Phil Young was ahead Tuesday in a rematch for the 120th House District against Republican Jim Feehan.

Young, a Democrat, defeated Feehan two years ago by a mere 13 votes, but he was leading by a wider margin on election night, with 6,454 votes to Feehan’s 6,122, according to unofficial results from the secretary of the state. Both candidates said they were waiting until roughly 2,000 outstanding absentee ballots are counted Thursday before making any assumptions.

"We did very well at the polls, but I think the absentee ballots are really going to go for Phil's way," said Feehan, a former Town Council chairman. "... I think it's going to be close."

Young, whose victory in 2018 was called into question after more than 70 voters mistakenly received the wrong ballots, said he had no plans to declare victory Tuesday.

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"I'm very, very happy, and satisfied that I ran an issues-oriented campaign," he said.

Leading by a much wider margin on election night was Democrat state Rep. Joe Gresko, of the 121st House District, who had more than twice the votes of his opponent, according to unofficial results. Gresko received 6,792 votes, compared to 3,064 for Republican challenger and longtime town commission member Ed Scinto.

In the 122nd House District, which includes parts of Stratford, Shelton and Trumbull, state Rep. Ben McGorty, a Republican, had a strong lead as of about 1 a.m. Wednesday, with 7,780 votes and 80 percent of precincts reporting, according to unofficial results. His opponent, Democrat Jose Goncalves, had 5,275 votes.

As of about 1 a.m. Wednesday, only 3 of 18 precincts in the 23rd Senatorial District were reported to the secretary of the state, but state Sen. Dennis Bradley was leading handily. The Democrat had 2,409 votes, compared to Republican challenger Josiah Israel’s 571. State Sen. Kevin Kelly, a Republican representing the 21st Senatorial District, which includes the rest of Stratford, was unopposed.

At the town level, Stratford residents indicated they did not want a third registrar of voters. Democrat James Simon received 14,320 votes, Republican Lou DeCilio got 9,768, and current Democrat registrar Rick Marcone, who ran as a petitioning candidate after losing an August primary to Simon, received 1,126, according to unofficial results. If Marcone had received more votes than either major party candidate, he would have qualified to serve as a third registrar.