8:17 PM: Welcome to the Live Blog for tonight. This is where we will follow the election results and provide some commentary about the races tonight. In Connecticut, election night results speed tends to be unpredictable, but we will see what happens.

As a reminder, there are two special elections in the state tonight. If you would like a more detailed understanding of the races tonight, we had a previous article published on Feb 12th breaking down the races for today.

In brief, In the 21st State Senate Seat, The Republican nominee is State Rep. Jason Perillo (R-Shelton) who will face off against the Democratic nominee Stratford Town Councilor Anthony Afriyie. President Trump carried the district in November with 49.6% to Harris’ 49.06%. However, the Republican party is a strong down-ballot in this region, holding the seat since 1966. In addition, Kevin Kelly was the only Republican State Senator unopposed in the 2024 Election Cycle. It should be an interesting race and a possible flip for the Democratic party.

In the 40th State House Seat, The Democratic nominee will be Groton City Councilman Dan Gaiewski. He will face off against the Republican nominee Robert Boris, the Groton Economic Development Commission Chairman. Kamala Harris comfortably carried the district 60-38 during the November election meaning Gaiewski is favored.

The margins of these races will be closely watched to gauge if either side is experiencing higher than expected turnout. Polls closed at 8 pm so we will wait and see what happens.

8:38 PM – In the 40th State House District, one of the five precincts has reported.

Credit to CT Secretary of State Site

Democratic nominee Dan Gaiewski comfortably leads Republican Nominee Robert Boris 72-28

In the 21st State Senate Seat, results are coming in quickly. 16 of the 23 precincts have reported.

Democratic Nominee Tony Afriyie leads Republican Nominee Jason Perillo 58-42, but we need to confirm where the results in the district are coming from, and what precincts are left.

8:45 PM – After a closer look at the unofficial results on the Secretary of State’s Website. We can see that all the votes have come in from the Stratford part of the district.

This is an important context as Stratford is the more liberal part of the district.

Stratford voted 57-42 for Kamala Harris in the presidential Election. Democratic Nominee Afriyie is running slightly ahead 58-42, but he is from this part of the district. It will be a tight race.

8:54 PM – In the 21st State Senate Seat, the precinct in the Seymour part of the district came strongly for State Rep. Jason Perillo (R-Shelton). Perillo won that part of the district 65-35.

He ran slightly ahead of Trump’s performance in this part of the district (62-37). Two towns yet to report, Shelton (which is fully in the 21st State Senate Seat), and Monroe (only part of the town in the seat). Perillo could run ahead in Shelton since he represents the area in the state house.

Tony Ayfrie currently leads 56-44, though the results in Shelton will make that margin much closer.

9:30 PM – Results have come in from Monroe. The two precincts have come in 50.8-49.2 for Republican nominee Jason Perillo. Afriyie still leads 55-45, it will come down to Shelton!

9:33 PM – Out of nowhere, results have fully come in for the 40th State House Seat. Democratic Nominee Dan Gaiewski defeats Republican nominee Robert Borris.

According to the unofficial results, Gaiewski wins 68.84%-31.14% over Borris. Harris won here 60-38. That is a 15-point overperformance here. (Gaiewski +37 vs Harris +22)

9:41 PM – And there it is. Shelton came strongly for State Rep. Jason Perillo, who is now State-Senator Elect. He won Shelton 65-35, whereas Trump only won here 55-44. He represented this part of the district since 2007 so that definitely helped him. Perillo wins 53.5-46.5.

9:55 PM – Though the races have been called. A quick look at past results in the 21st State Senate seat shows that Afriyie’s 46.52% of the vote is one of the best results for a Democrat in this district in a long time

In 2006, then State Senator Dan Debicella won 52.2-47.8 against his Democratic opponent. This is the closest result in the district since then. Kelly never faced a close challenge in his tenure.

In the end, though, Jason Perillo overperformed Trump in this district. He overperformed by about 6.5 points (Perillo +7 vs Trump 0.5).

Well, that will be it for the night. I will likely have another live blog in a few months, as there will be a special election for Jason Perillo’s state house seat.

Overall Results

Note – Numbers are unofficial at the moment

40th House Seat – Democrat Groton City Councilman Dan Gaiewski beats Republican Robert Boris, the Groton Economic Development Commission Chairman, 68.84%-31.14%.

21st State Senate Seat – Republican State Rep. Jason Perillo beats Democrat Stratford Town Councilor Anthony Afriyie 53.47%-47.52%.

Thanks for following our live blog!