Connecticut voters choose Republican U.S. Senate candidate in upcoming August primary

Town halls in the Northwest Corner will be closed for business during voting hours, including the seven-day early voting period.

Connecticut voters choose Republican U.S. Senate candidate in upcoming August primary

Town halls will be shut down during the early voting period.

Archive

LAKEVILLE — The official date of the Connecticut District Primaries is Aug. 13, but voters can head to the polls starting Aug. 5 for early voting.

With most party nominees running uncontested in 2024, voters in the Northwest Corner will have just one race to be decided in the primary.

Republican voters will choose between two candidates to face U.S. Senator Chris Murphy in November. Beacon Falls First Selectman Gerry Smith and Manchester entrepreneur Matthew Corey will vie for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. An Independent party candidate, ex-Marine Robert Hyde, will also appear as a challenger to Murphy in November.

Incumbent nominees will face no opposition in the August primary. Senator Murphy (D-CT), U.S. Rep. Jahanna Hayes (D-5), State Senator Stephen Harding (R-30), State Senator Lisa Seminara (R-8) and State Rep. Maria Horn (D-64) have earned their parties’ nomination and will all appear on the ballot in November.

Challengers for the house 64th district and senate 30th are also uncontested in the primary. Come November, Republican Barbara Breor, longstanding Goshen Town Clerk, will face Horn for the 64th seat and Harding will be facing a challenge from Democrat Justin Potter, a political newcomer from Kent, for the 30th. Democratic candidate Paul Honig will challenge Seminara for her state senate seat in the 8th.

To vote in the primary voters must be affiliated with a political party. Unaffiliated voters have until Aug. 2 at noon to register. However, voters already affiliated with a political party may no longer change their party prior to the election.

This is the first year that early voting is available for Connecticut voters. The August district primary will have a seven-day early voting period running from Monday, Aug. 5 to Sunday, Aug. 11. Polling locations will be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Tuesday and Thursday voting booths will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Unregistered voters still have time to register before the election. Voters wishing to register should see their local Registrar of Voters no later than noon on the business day before they would like to vote. For example, to be eligible to cast a ballot on Aug. 5 a voter must register by noon on Aug. 2.

Primary day is Tuesday, Aug. 13. Polls will be open that day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. The deadline to register before the primary is Monday, Aug. 12 at noon.

Cornwall Registrar of Voters Jayne Ridgway told the Lakeville Journal that the early voting period has created some challenges for local election officials. “It’s the money,” Ridgway said. Cornwall received a $10,500 grant from the Connecticut government to help establish early voting earlier this year. “We spent all the money that was the state money and now we have to use the town money.”

Staffing could be an issue for some localities as well, though Ridgway said she’s fortunate to have enough interested people to serve as poll watchers through the seven day early voting period. “There are only 188 registered republicans,” Ridgway said.

“We’re fortunate to have people willing to work,” Ridgway said. “But generally, some other towns where there’s a more active workforce; they just can’t do it, so they have more trouble.”

Latest News

Fallen tree cancels jubilee

The roof of the Grove was damaged by the tree, the event tent was punctured, a chef was injured and the Jubilee Luncheon was canceled Sunday, Oct. 12.

Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

LAKEVILLE — The Lakeville Journal and The Millerton News Jubilee Luncheon fundraiser at the Grove Sunday, Oct. 12 was canceled after a very large section of a tree fell on the caterer’s tent at about 10 a.m.

Most of the catering staff heard the tree breaking up and got out of the tent in time, but the chef was hit by the falling limbs and sustained non-critical injuries.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kent School senior killed, parents hurt in car crash

Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.

Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

Updated Oct. 13, 9:25 a.m.:

SHARON — Shea Cassidy-Teti, 17, of Salisbury, died Saturday, Oct. 11, in a tragic car crash on Amenia Union Road in Sharon.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

Keep ReadingShow less