With the results of the presidential race still in question, Wilton voted for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her running mate Tim Kaine by a wide margin. It was only the third time since Lyndon Johnson ran in 1964 that Wilton went with a Democrat for President. Barack Obama also won the town in 2008.
Electors also voted to send U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressman Jim Himes, both Democrats, back to Washington, D.C. Blumenthal won re-election across the state as did Himes across the 4th District.
Further down the ticket, Wilton stuck with its Republican roots, favoring state Sen. Toni Boucher and state Rep. Tom O’Dea, both of whom won re-election district-wide. State Rep. Gail Lavielle ran unopposed.
Following are the official results:
U.S. President
Clinton and Kaine, Democratic 6055
Trump and Pence, Republican 3783
Johnson and Weld, Libertarian 411
Stein and Baraka, Green 111
U.S. Senator
Richard Blumenthal, Democratic, Working Families* 5695
Dan Carter, Republican 4493
Richard Lion, Libertarian 102
Jeffery Russell, Green 65
U.S. Representative
Jim Himes, Democratic* 5470
John Shaban, Republican, Independent 4876
State senate, 26th Senatorial District
Carolanne Curry, Democratic 3330
Toni Boucher, Republican, Independent* 6939
State rep, 143rd House District (no contest)
Gail Lavielle, Republican* 5105
State rep, 121st House District
Tom O’Dea, Republican* 2458
Hector L. Lopez, Green 419
Registrar of Voters
Carole Young-Kleinfeld, Democratic* 4758
Annalisa Stravato Favarolo, Republican * 5122
*Overall winner
Total Ballots Cast: 10,678
Turnout 84%
Toni Boucher, who easily won her fifth term as Wilton’s state senator in the 26th District said, “This year was a particularly difficult year to run in any election because the national race really overshadowed almost every other race in our state … When you have a presidential race with an open seat the outcome is especially uncertain because the people that normally don’t vote will vote for the presidential candidate and generally don’t know anything about us on the under ticket and generally vote straight across party line.
“I had a very worthy opponent this year from Westport, which is the largest town in the district and has registered Democrats that are a 2 to 1 ratio.”
Boucher took Westport with a total of 6,690 votes to Carolanne Curry’s 6,222.
The results of the remaining towns in the 26th district were:
Redding: Boucher, 3,190; Curry, 2,186
Bethel: Boucher, 4,027; Curry, 2,748
Ridgefield: Boucher, 7,460; Curry, 5,236
New Canaan: Boucher, 2,952; Curry, 1,238
Redding: Boucher, 3,190; Curry, 2,186
Weston: Boucher, 1,837; Curry, 1,491
“For me, this is a very gratifying outcome. It truly is. It is certainly a rare opportunity to get the trust of the public, to be their voice in such an important political process, particularly when our state has so many issues to deal with. I am looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and dealing with the issues our state is facing.”
Wilton Democratic Chair Deborah McFadden said her party is “thrilled with what Clinton has done in Wilton. The Republicans and unafilliateds have dominated this town. The fact that Clinton has been able to carry Wilton is extraordinary."
She said it spoke to the ability of the party to get Democrats out and also speaks “to Republicans in town who were open-minded enough to cross party affiliation.”
Of the townwide results, Republican Town Committee Chair Al Alper said he was “somewhat” surprised.
“I’m shocked that our townspeople voted for [Richard] Blumenthal who has been as ineffective a senator as we’ve ever had. I respect the fact that [Republican] Dan Carter didn’t give them a lot of information to go on. … his lack of participation at the local level didn’t lend enough credibility to his message.”
Alper said he was not surprised at the results at the top of the ticket but thought Trump was “an extraordinary candidate,” particularly compared to Clinton, who “in the absence of a presidency would be indicted.”