CT 90th House District Election Results: Jinks Beats Fishbein

WALLINGFORD, CT — (UPDATED: 11:22 a.m.): Democratic challenger Jim Jinks has defeated Republican incumbent Craig Fishbein in the hotly contested state House of Representatives 90th District race, which represents parts of Cheshire and Wallingford.

“I am incredibly pleased and excited to announce we have won!” Jinks wrote in a post on Twitter at 1:12 a.m.

Jinks led Fishbein 5,747 to 5,330, according to unofficial results from the Secretary of the State’s office.

Jinks thanked the voters of Cheshire and Wallingford for their support.

“From the very beginning I've had so much support from both communities,” Jinks told Patch. “This has been more like a movement than simply a state rep race. I also want to say thank you to my wife and family. This victory wouldn't have been possible without their love and support.

“Perhaps now more than ever we need leadership that seeks to bring people together and is focused on working for the people. I'm sure there are people in the District that are feeling like my winning means they've lost something. To that I'll say that my job as a state rep is to work for the constituents of the 90th District not a particular party or from a particular ideology. As I've said all along, I'll take a broad view of things and seek out the best solutions to our challenges. I'm your representative and I'll do my best to balance the interests of everyone in the district. Let's move past this moment of divisiveness and bitterness and move in a better direction together. Thank you. I'm excited and eager to get to work!”

(Original post): WALLINGFORD, CT — Voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide the hotly contested state House of Representatives 90th District race featuring incumbent Republican Craig Fishbein and Democratic challenger Jim Jinks.

The 90th District represents parts of Cheshire and Wallingford.

(The votes are currently being counted and continue to refresh this article for updates as the night progresses. To receive free, real-time election updates from Patch click here.)

Fishbein, who was first elected as state representative in 2016, is also a Town Councilor in Wallingford. Jinks is a member of the Town Council in Cheshire.

Fishbein said the single most pressing issue facing Connecticut is “insurmountable debt.” He said he intends to “cut spending, lower taxes to incentivize investment.”

Jinks said the single most pressing issue facing Connecticut is “our stagnant economic growth.”

“For Cheshire and Wallingford, I'd pursue initiatives that lower energy costs and expands housing options at the affordable end of the scale,” Jinks told Patch. “To grow our local economy, we need to address affordability and in doing so we'll attract more young workers, families and seniors as well.”

Stay on top of all the returns from across Connecticut and our five congressional districts by checking these stories throughout the night.

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Fishbein, who works as an attorney, said the critical difference between him and Jinks is that “my opponent has been endorsed by groups wanting to de-fund the police and take away our rights to protect ourselves.”

“I have an actual record of supporting law enforcement, crime victims, and those wanting to be able to protect themselves,” he told Patch.

Jinks said the critical difference between him and Fishbein is that he has been in the “private sector my entire career.” He has held leadership positions with advertising-services businesses and operated his own direct marketing business.

“In the private sector we traffic in innovation, ideas and creativity to meet challenges and make progress,” Jinks said. “My opponent has three government positions and a law practice seemingly dedicated to wasteful, politically-motivated lawsuits against our Governor and the state. I take a broad view of things and draw on my graduate training in policy analysis, to work toward common sense solutions. My opponent is driven by narrow interests and ideology and is too extreme to effectively represent the district.”

Jinks, who was elected to the Cheshire Town Council in last year’s municipal election, said he had no intention of running for office this year. That changed, however, after Fishbein retweeted a racist meme that depicted a picture of former Vice President Joe Biden speaking at an event with the text: "If you aren't setting fire to buildings… Then You Ain't Black!"

The retweet was condemned by both Democrats and Republicans and Fishbein was censured by the Wallingford Town Council. Fishbein apologized for the retweet and voted in favor of his own censure.

“I got into this race because our values are not being represented by my opponent,” Jinks told Patch. “His racist retweet was one instance, among many, that have shown us we're not being well served in the 90th District. Mr. Fishbein is often one of the one to two to three legislators that vote no on important bills. The vast majority of even his own Republican colleagues find reasons why legislation is good for their constituents. But not our 'representative.’' This dynamic effectively shuts us out of the democratic process. The vast majority of the district simply doesn't have a voice in Hartford. I'm not going to the legislature to be an ideologue or to perform for a narrow set of interests.”