Eric Urbanowicz – General Assignment Reporter
Seny Riccardi, the manager for the Kim Rose for State Representative campaign, along with his fellow Democratic Party members awaited the results of the 2014 election. It would turn out to be a long night as several issues occurred during the course of the day. By the end of the day, their efforts would pay off as Rose defeated Republican candidate Ray Vitali 53 percent to 47 percent.
“Election Day was nerve wracking,” said Riccardi. “There are no do overs when the day hits. There was obvious discontent with voters and they voted against the incumbents this year.”
According to WTNH.com, a local television outlet in the New Haven area, Rose accumulated 3,909 votes to Vitali’s 3,417 votes. Riccardi said despite this victory, there was change he was not expecting.
“In Milford two out of the three State Reps lost,” said Riccardi, “one of whom was there for 10 years.”
Among the other races included the governor race, which saw incumbent, Democrat Dannel Malloy defeating Republican challenger, Tom Foley, 51 percent to 48 percent.
Grateful to the ppl for their support. Together we will continue strengthening CT to foster growth & prosperity. Let’s get back to work. -DM
— Governor Dan Malloy (@GovMalloyOffice) November 5, 2014
On campus, Election Day was covered by WSIN Radio, Southern Connecticut State University’s radio station. Among those covering the event were Drew McWeeney, Jared Klim, Daniel Zumpano, and new director at WSIN, Jon Reynolds.
“There was a lot of things going on at once, and I only had my phone to aide me with the coverage, which was not sufficient,” said Reynolds. “I regret not having my laptop and tablet with me. However it was my pleasure to join Daniel Zumpano and Drew McWeeney.”
Reynolds said he was confident that Malloy would win the governor’s race, but he felt indifferent about the other races.
“I feel like it was a win for the republicans,” said Reynolds. “They got exactly what they wanted. They took over the senate, and maintained their majority in the house. I think it was certainly an interesting spectacle to witness during Election Day night.”
According to Reynolds, the broadcast ran from around 5 p.m. to past midnight, and featured updates, as well as political analysis from Southern political science professor, Dr. Jonathan Wharton.
Chris Day, journalism major, said he didn’t care for either candidate, but he voted for Foley. “I voted for Tom Foley, solely based on the fact that Malloy voted for the highest tax increase in state history,” said Day. Day said he paid more attention to the race because journalists have to be able to get stories on the fly, and on Election Day, stories break, develop, change over time.
Live results for the 2014 Connecticut midterm elections http://t.co/gsWlUokXkB
— Ann Nyberg (@AnnNyberg) November 5, 2014
According to CNN, the Republican Party holds 52 of the senate seats. They also said the Republicans will hold at least 246 seats in the House of Representative, the largest majority held by one political party since World War II.
With election season now officially over, Day said there’s one thing he is glad about.
“Despite Malloy winning the election, I’m happy that the political ads on television have stopped, said Day.
According to the Center of Public Integrity, $410 million were spent on TV ads in the senate race.
Like a professional athlete, members of a political party get brief respite before getting back to work on a next years campaign. Riccardi said he hopes the Democratic Party can get more power in Washington next year, to build on the 2016 presidential election.
Photo Credit: Vox Efx
