Both candidates vying for the title of Hartford mayor spent Primary Day visiting polling places throughout the capital city.
Luke Bronin, who served as legal adviser to Gov. Dannel Malloy and earned the backing of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee, is going up against incumbent Mayor Pedro Segarra.
"You keep doing what you’ve been doing for the past few months. You try to reach every single voter you can," Bronin said at a polling place in Hartford's Blue Hills neighborhood. "You make sure they know what’s at stake and make sure they get to the polls and cast their vote."
Segarra, meanwhile, visited the Rawson School just half a mile away.
"You continue to go out to the voting places. You continue to engage and talk to people. They ask questions. You answer questions and you encourage them to support you and vote for you and so far the feedback has been very good," he said.
Bronin will not be on the November ballot if he loses in the Democratic primary. He did not collect signatures to stage a run as a petitioning candidate.
"This is it. I’m a Democrat. I’m a proud Democrat. I’m going to respect the results of the Democratic primary and I plan and hope to win the Democratic primary," Bronin said.
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Segarra, on the other hand, has the option to remain on the ballot or withdraw from the race if he loses Wednesday's primary.
Low turnout was expected for the Democratic primary election. Few voters, roughly 10 percent, generally show up for such elections, and because the polls are open on a Wednesday rather than a traditional Tuesday election day, turnout was even more of an unknown.
Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, who said she had to deal with several "minor" voting issues early in the morning, expected more voters to cast ballots than initially thought.
"I think there will be a pretty decent turnout today. We’ll see," she said.
Bronin is running a campaign based on change as he tries to unseat the incumbent Segarra, who is serving his first full term.
He said he's gotten a good feeling from voters all day.
"There’s been a great energy. I’ve been feeling for a while that voters in Hartford are ready for a change and I have a feeling of that at the polling places," he said.
Segarra said Wednesday that Bronin's TV ads have spread "misinformation" that "confused many voters."
The mayor said his records on education and downtown development speak for themselves. He hopes voters see it that way.
Segarra said the more people head to the polls, the better his chances of winning reelection.
"I think a higher turnout does help me because that means that people have been encouraged to come out and vote," he said.
Polls close at 8 p.m.
