KENT—According to unofficial results, Joe Biden would have little trouble being re-elected to a second term as president if the election were to be held in Kent this week.
The veteran Democratic politician garnered 197 of his local party’s Presidential Preference Primary votes Tuesday as compared to Republican rival Donald Trump, who received the nod from 59 Republican voters.
In all, 282 Kent voters made their way to the polls in a light turnout. Fifty-six voters took advantage of early voting and 15 submitted absentee ballots. More than three times as many Democrats voted (213) than Republicans (69).
Both men led challengers from within their own parties by wide margins. With 95 percent of the vote counted statewide on Wednesday morning, Biden had secured 84.8 percent of Democratic votes and Trump had been endorsed by 77.9 percent of Connecticut Republicans.
Uncommitted voters were the biggest challenge to Biden’s candidacy, with 11.5 percent of electors statewide saying they are as yet unsure, reflecting a trend that started with the Michigan primary and has since spread to other states. Uncommitted voters largely believed to reflect unhappiness with some of the president’s policies or perhaps fears about his age. Sixteen Kent voters joined this category.
The uncommitted vote far outshadowed all the votes cast for other Democratic candidates, with Marianne Williamson securing 2.3 percent of the vote statewide and “other candidates” a mere 1.4 percent. No one voted for Williamson or Cenk Uygur in Kent, and two voted for Dean Phillips
On the Republican side, Trump supporters were more decided. Only 4.8 percent were uncommitted statewide, although larger percentages said they preferred another candidate. Statewide, Nikki Haley had 13.9 percent of the votes cast and Ron DeSantis 2.7 percent. “Other candidates” scored a tiny .5 percent.
Trump was slightly stronger in Litchfield County, with 81.2 percent of Republicans backing him. Haley was slightly less popular in the county, garnering only 11.4 percent of the votes, with DeSantis ticking up to 3 percent. In Kent, Haley scored six votes and DeSantis one. Dark horse candidate Ryan Binkley received no votes, and three Republicans were uncommitted.
