GREENWICH — Republican Kimberly Fiorello is claiming victory over Democrat Kathleen Stowe in the race to represent the 149th District of the state House of Representatives on Thursday morning.
The call came more than 36 hours after polls closed Tuesday night. The result was delayed because volunteers in Stamford worked to count a large number of absentee ballots throughout the day Wednesday and into Thursday morning. The district represents backcountry Greenwich and part of North Stamford, so vote totals were needed from both municipalities.
The final count from Greenwich, where the majority of the district lies, and Stamford put Fiorello up 7,126 votes to 6,473 votes for Stowe.
“I feel wonderful,” Fiorello said Thursday morning. “We ran a mission-driven campaign to save our state and we won.”
Just before 11 a.m., Fiorello said she hadn’t heard from Stowe. Fiorello and Republican Town Committee Chair Dan Quigley announced the victory at about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, after viewing final counts out of Stamford.
“This was just an amazing campaign,” Fiorello said. “It had so much support. … We had so much momentum all the way through to 8 p.m. on Election Night. I’m so grateful.”
Fiorello said she campaigned on three key issues: Supporting local businesses with lower taxes, supporting public safety and the police, and supporting local control for zoning and schools.
“I made clear where I stand on these issues, and I will go to Hartford and fight for the people of Greenwich and Stamford,” she said.
Fiorello, a former financial journalist, will serve her first term in the General Assembly representing the district that has long been a Republican stronghold. Republican Livvy Floren served the district for 20 years before announcing her retirement earlier this year.
It was Stowe’s first attempt at state office, as well. She will continue in her role as vice chair of the Board of Education. Stowe could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday.
Results came slowly out of Stamford, which was working through more than 30,000 absentee ballots. For Fiorello, the lack of results on election night was anti-climactic. But the win, even more than a day later, is no less satisfying, she said. She said she hopes to reach across the aisle and establish a working relationship with Stowe.
“These political campaigns are a real battle of ideas, but we are neighbors and I want to invite Kathleen to dinner,” Fiorello said. “We really went through something together. So I hope to share a meal, to break bread and continue on with the things that we care about, with my work now in Hartford and her work on the Board of Education.”
justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586