Fazio concedes to Kasser in 36th Senate District race

Republican challenger Ryan Fazio conceded defeat in his bid to unseat state Sen. Alex Kasser, as the unofficial vote tallies were released Thursday morning in the 36th Senate District race.
A lengthy tally of absentee ballots in Stamford, culminating in a final total Thursday morning, gave Kasser a win by a close margin in the district, which encompasses all of Greenwich and a portion of Stamford and New Canaan.
A Democrat, Kasser won a large share of voters in Stamford, which gave her the win, gaining 8,297 votes in the city to Fazio’s 6,152. Fazio won by close margins in Greenwich and New Canaan.
Kasser said she would send a statement later Thursday morning.
In conceding the race on Thursday morning, Fazio expressed disappointment in the results but also gratitude toward all of his supporters.
“We had the support of close to 27,000 people across this district, and my campaign team worked so hard on my behalf,” Fazio said. “I love this district. I loved the experience of running, and I still believe we need change in Connecticut in order to create a brighter future for everyone. Those underlying facts haven’t changed, and we will continue to advocate for a better way for our state.”
Fazio said that several factors could have hurt his candidacy. There was the value in Kasser’s incumbency, he said, as well as surge of new residents moving to the district from New York during the COVID-19 crisis. That helped create a bump in registered Democrats in Greenwich.
Also, anti-Trump headwinds worked against Republicans, Fazio said. Kasser has been a vocal critic of the policies and personality of President Donald Trump, and he fared poorly in Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan in the election.
“When you run a two-point race, it’s all of the above,” Fazio said. “Any single one of those things could have potentially swung the race. But it ended up the way it has and we’ll move on.”
When asked about his future plans, Fazio said, “We’ll see.” He remains a member of the RTM in Greenwich and said he has always spent a lot of time volunteering and working with local nonprofits, which he said will continue. And he will remain focused on the issues that drove his campaign.
“I think my campaign team worked so hard and did such a great job putting hours and hours every week,” Fazio said. “I just want to thank them first and foremost. I certainly am not the perfect candidate, but I don’t have any regrets.”
Kasser is serving her first term in the state Senate, after defeating Republican L. Scott Frantz in an upset in 2018 by about 600 votes. Her term was saw some controversy over her support of highway tolls, which did not come to fruition, and her vote on the police reform bill that became law this summer.