KENT—A lackluster statewide voter turnout for Tuesday’s Republican Senatorial Primary handed the nomination to challenger Matthew Corey over party-endorsed Gerry Smith. Corey defeated the Beacon Falls first selectman 54 percent to 46 percent.
Even with seven days of early voting prior to Tuesday’s primary, only 44 Kent Republicans cast ballots for the candidates, splitting the vote evenly 22-22.
Turnout in nearby communities saw only two towns that were significantly more engaged. In Salisbury, Smith garnered 37 votes to Corey’s 8. In Sharon, it was Smith, 12, Corey, 15, while in Canaan it was a nailbiter with Smith 11 to Corey’s 12.
Falls Village had only 13 voters come out over five days, giving Smith 8 votes and Corey 5 votes. In Cornwall, Corey defeated Smith, 13-6, while Warren supported Smith over Corey, 21-12. Goshen was a break-out for Corey, who scored 126 votes to 18 for Smith, while in New Milford, the largest of western Connecticut towns, Smith got 143 ballots compared to 218 for Corey.
Statewide the Republican primary turnout was little more than 7 percent — about one-third of that in the GOP’s U.S. Senate primary two years ago. Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said Wednesday that only 1 percent of the state’s Republicans took advantage of early voting. She said the low turnout was not surprising and suggested that better efforts to alert voters to early voting might build participation. Seven days of early voting might be too much, she added.
Corey, a bar owner from Manchester and Navy veteran, will face U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy for a second time after losing to the two-term Democratic senator in 2018. In that campaign, Corey garnered only 40 percent of the vote.
