Fishbein Holds Slim Lead After Recount In 90th District: UPDATE

WALLINGFORD, CT — Republican incumbent Craig Fishbein held his lead over Democratic challenger Jim Jinks by a slim margin following a recount on Thursday.

The margin shrunk from 21 votes before the recount to an unofficial 19 vote margin on Thursday night to a 17-vote margin on Friday morning, according to Wallingford Democratic Town Committee Chairman Alida Cella.

Cella said the official tally appears to be 7,059 Fishbein to 7,042 Jinks. The numbers aren’t considered official until they are certified by the Secretary of the State’s office.

Jinks addressed the recount in a post on Twitter on Friday morning.

“Official numbers later today will show this was an extremely close race,” he said. “I'm very proud of everything we've accomplished.”

Jinks appeared to win the hotly contested race on election night. Jinks, a Town Councilor in Cheshire, declared victory early in the morning on Nov. 4 after election night totals showed him ahead of Fishbein, who is also a member of the Wallingford Town Council.

Unofficial results from the Secretary of the State’s office had Jinks leading 5,747 to 5,330.

However, the Wallingford Town Clerk's office this week discovered that no votes from Mary G. Fritz Elementary School were recorded in the state election reporting system, the Connecticut Mirror previously reported. Fritz Elementary School is one of nine polling places in the 90th District, which represents parts of Cheshire and Wallingford.

The updated results, including the votes from Fritz Elementary School, showed Fishbein leading the race by 21 votes – 7,058 to 7,037. The close vote forced the automatic recount in both Wallingford and Cheshire.

Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly reported that Craig Fishbein’s victory margin increased by more than 850 votes following the recount. We apologize for the error.