Mr. Himes goes to Washington
(Nov. 5, 2008) It was a good night for America--and the Democrats. At 11:20 PM (EDT) on Nov. 4, Republican John McCain conceded the presidential election to Democrat Barack Obama. Just 90 minutes earlier, 21-year incumbent Republican Christopher Shays conceded his U.S. Congressional seat for Connecticut's 4th District to newcomer and Democrat Jim Himes.
In Redding, where voter turnout exceeded 80%, Obama took 3,245 votes vs. 2,319 for McCain. Himes won 2,480 vs. 2,902 in town, but snagged over 58% of district votes thanks to down county. (View Himes acceptance speech.)
In other Dem results, state senate contender John Hartwell ran a close race against Republican Toni Boucher; in Redding, Hartwell took a majority 2,689 votes vs. Boucher's 2,562, but the Republican took higher percentages in New Canaan and her hometown of Wilton (read Hartwell coverage).
Jason Bartlett, the incumbent Democrat for Connecticut's 2nd Congressional District overtook his Republican opponent Melanie O'Brien for a win (read Bartlett coverage). The 2nd includes part of Redding, Bethel and parts of Danbury. In Redding, Bartlett took 937 votes (53.4% of total cast) vs. 812 by O'Brien. In Danbury, he won 58.6% of all votes cast. In battleground Bethel, where Republicans waged a smear campaign that asked the electorate to choose "anyone but Bartlett," Bartlett secured 51.6% of all votes.