HARTFORD, Conn. — Unofficial results for the 6th district State House of Representatives show, that James “Jimmy” Sanchez (D) leading over the petitioning candidate Jason Diaz by 325 to 198 according to the Secretary of the State's office.
In the 100th district, Kai Juanna Belton (D/Working Families Party) has 1,716 votes to 776 for Deborah Kleckowski (R).
In the 148th district, Anabel Figueroa (D) leads Olga Anastos (R) 584 to 373.
The Secretary of the State will make the results official later in the week.
Despite the winter weather, voters turned out for Tuesday's special election to fill three empty state House seats for three districts.
“I voted this morning like a lot of people did," said chair of the Middletown Democratic Party, Mike Fallon. "I had to snow blow my driveway out.”
The races are for open seats in the 6th, 100th, and 148th House districts – which include voters in Hartford, West Hartford, Middletown and Stamford.
“Most people think about elections being held in November and special elections often slip under the radar," said Sec. of the State Stephanie Thomas. "Between the snowstorm and the fact that a lot of people may not have known about the special election, I thought it was really important to put some reminders out there.”
These vacancies are caused by two representatives stepping down. Edwin Vargas (Hartford, West Hartford) left to teach at Central Connecticut State University and Daniel Fox (Stamford) resigned to pursue an appointment as a superior court judge.
The third empty seat is that of Rep. Quentin “Q” Williams, who was killed in a wrong-way crash on Route 9 on his way home from the governor’s inauguration ball in early January.
“Middletown is really a beacon of leading on change in a lot of ways," Fallon said. "It's really important that that person continues Q’s legacy in ways that he fought for.”
While none of these races are expected to shift the overall balance of the power in the House – Democrats hold a strong majority and all three districts lean democratic – election officials are still encouraging voters to exercise their rights.
“I encourage every voter to show the same dedication that our poll workers showed today," Thomas added. "I would say don't let their efforts go in vain."
“Even though it's a special election, you might not see the big change, swing in numbers, it really matters because what happens locally affects everything," continued Fallon.
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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