Some Connecticut towns are still counting ballots from Tuesday’s election, but one thing is clear, even though the numbers are still preliminary: Connecticut’s reputation as a blue-hued state turned slightly red.
In about 150 towns, based on preliminary results, Donald J. Trump took a larger share of the total vote than he did in 2020, even in towns that voted for Kamala Harris.
For example, in Bridgeport in 2020, President Joe Biden received 33,515 votes, compared to Trump’s 8,269 votes — about 79% of the total vote for Biden and 19% Trump, a margin of about 60 percentage points.
In 2024, however, Harris received about 26,700 votes, compared to Trump’s approximately 9,700 votes — about 73% Harris and 27% Trump, a margin of 46 percentage points.
Still a solid victory for Harris in Bridgeport, but, due to the fact that there were about 7,000 fewer votes for the Democratic candidate, there was an overall shift toward Trump in the margin of victory.
The towns with the largest margin gains for Trump from 2020 to 2024 were Hamden, Bethlehem, Bridgeport and Danbury, according to preliminary data.
Some results are partial results and all results are preliminary. The Secretary of the State’s results website on Friday showed that Hartford had results from 25 precincts, when the city has only 24. Hamden’s presidential vote count is unusually low — 12,000 votes cast compared to the usual 26,000 or more. Torrington has not reported any results and is not included in calculations.