The Connecticut secretary of the state's race remains too close to call.
Democratic incumbent Secretary of the State Denise Merrill did release a statement at 1:17 p.m. declaring that she has been re-elected to her post, but her Republican challenger Peter Lumaj has not conceded the race at this time.
The deadline for the town registrars to report their election results is 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to Merrill, so the numbers are not final. Merrill's campaign said in a news release that she had 50,000 more votes than Lumaj as of 1:17 p.m.
“I am pleased to declare such a resounding victory, but what I’m proudest of,” Merrill said, “is that I ran a strong campaign focused on the issues. The message of the campaign was a hopeful one about the future of our state, and I am proud to move forward with that positivity in mind."
Lumaj sent out a press release at 12:56 p.m. stating that the race was tight and too close to call. He thanked his supporters and campaign team.
"Win or lose, I would like to offer to work together with Secretary Merrill and her staff to examine Connecticut's election results, protocols and safeguards to ensure that the mess that happened with our election last night never happens again," Lumaj said in a statement.
He agreed to work with Merrill on tackling votoing irregularities.
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"I am a proud Connecticut resident and am deeply troubled by how often our election 'irregularities' are occurring and how that impacts the integrity of our voting process and, ultimately, the perception of our state- and I want to work with Secretary Merrill to fix it," Lumaj said. Finally, I want to thank Denise Merrill. While I disagree with her over some fundamental issues, I have the utmost respect for her service to the people of Connecticut and I wish her well."
He also addressed the question on the ballot about lessening absentee ballot restrictions.
"It is my firm hope, however, that she takes note of the defeat of her proposed constitutional amendment and realizes that the people of Connecticut have spoken and it is clear they feel we don't need looser voting laws- they demand integrity! We need our election process to be secure and to function properly; that is why I reiterate my pledge to work with her to help us achieve that goal and make it a reality," Lumaj said.
Check back for updates.
