A rare mayoral election redo in Connecticut remains unresolved

Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayor Joe Ganim declared victory in a rare election redo on Tuesday night, even as votes are still being counted.

“Overwhelmingly, we won on the machines!” Ganim said. “Almost a thousand more people heeded our call and came out.”

His opponent, John Gomes, has not conceded the race, which the Associated Press has not yet called.

The election redo — the city’s third mayoral contest in five months — threatened the sitting mayor’s eighth term. A state judge overturned Ganim’s narrow victory in the September Democratic mayoral primary last year after Gomes, also a Democrat, released footage of Ganim supporters depositing stacks of what appeared to be ballots into drop boxes. Connecticut has strict rules on who can help voters return their ballots.

Ganim, who denied knowledge or involvement in any ballot fraud scheme, defeated Gomes again in the general election in November days later, but was still forced to run again this week to continue his eighth term as mayor. If he loses, a general election redo will take place in February.

No matter who wins, the do-over is unlikely to put fraud concerns to rest.

Bridgeport, a working-class, Democratic city about 62 miles from New York City, has been dogged by absentee ballot fraud allegations for years. Footage of alleged ballot box stuffing has offered a stark visual of the allegations, capturing the attention of many, including former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

Last week, state authorities recently expanded their investigation into possible electioneering charges in Bridgeport, investigating whether voters were offered housing vouchers for votes.

This week, a judge rejected a Bridgeport attorney’s request to sequester ballots they argued were the result of improperly handled ballot applications that had been circulated by a Gomes operative.

Both candidates have argued that fraudulent activities continue to this day, sparring in a contentious debate on Monday.

“Let’s be honest with the people in the city of Bridgeport,” Ganim said, according to NBC Connecticut. “The hypocrisy has got to end.”

“The hypocrisy, sir, is that you have failed to take action. You still have people on your payroll who are operatives in your campaign and still carrying on the criminal activities as it is today. Nothing has changed,” Gomes fired back.