Sen. Martin Looney, left, and House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz.
You can bet the house on the re-elections of Sen. Martin Looney, left, and Rep. Joe Aresimowicz.
You can bet the house (and the Senate, too) on the re-elections of Sen. Martin Looney, left, and Rep. Joe Aresimowicz.

Democrat Angel Arce is a sure thing for re-election in Hartford, where it’s not unusual for badly outnumbered Republicans to take a pass on legislative races. So is Republican Mike Alberts in Woodstock, which is a little odd, given that he squeaked into office by just 48 votes a decade ago.

In all, 42 of 151 state House members and eight of 36 senators are positioned to cruise into office in November without major-party opposition, though five of them will first have to win primaries in August.

Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport are the top locales where the GOP doesn’t try to defy the lopsided voter registration numbers. Waterbury has the singular distinction of giving legislators in both parties a free ride: In the House, Democrat Jeff Berger and Republicans Anthony D’Amelio and Selim Noujaim can vacation in November.

Ben McGorty at the polls on Tuesday.
Ben McGorty at the polls on Tuesday. CT MIRROR

Ben McGorty of Shelton, a Republican, won a special election Tuesday to fill the vacancy left by the death of Rep. Larry Miller, R-Stratford. He faces a GOP primary in August, but if he clears that hurdle, he’s in: No Democrat is running in November.

The winner of the Democratic primary for the open seat in the 124th House District of Bridgeport is the winner of the seat. There is no Republican candidate, even though the Democratic nominee is likely to be Ernest Newton II, a former legislator attempting a comeback after a stint in prison on a corruption conviction.

In the Senate, the expected leaders of both caucuses next year are unopposed by the other party: Democrat Martin Looney in New Haven, and Republican Len Fasano in North Haven.

House Majority Leader Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, is unopposed by a Republican, but House Speaker J. Brendan Sharkey, D-Hamden, is not.

It may be appropriate that Rep. Diana Urban, D-North Stonington, is unopposed by a Republican. Urban is a Democrat, but she originally was elected to the General Assembly as a Republican.

House races uncontested by a major party
More than a quarter of the 151 House members get a free ride
District Party Incumbent Hometown Primary
4 D Angel Arce Hartford
5 D Brandon L. McGee Hartford
7 D Douglas McCrory Hartford Yes
9 D Jason Rojas East Hartford
10 D Henry Genga East Hartford
18 D Andrew Fleischmann West Hartford
29 D Antonio Guerrera Rocky Hill
30 D Joe Aresimowicz Berlin
39 D Ernest Hewett New London
43 D Diana Urban N. Stonington
48 D Linda Orange Colchester Yes
49 D Susan Johnson Willimantic
51 D Daniel Rovero Killingly
73 D Jeffrey Berger Waterbury
84 D Hilda Santiago Meriden
91 D Michael D’Agostino Hamden
93 D Toni Walker New Haven
94 D Robyn Porter New Haven
95 D Juan Candelaria New Haven
96 D Roland Lemar New Haven
115 D Stephen Dargan West Haven
124 D OPEN Bridgeport Yes
126 D Charlie Stalworth Bridgeport
127 D John Hennessy Bridgeport
129 D Auden Grogins Bridgeport
140 D Bruce Morris Norwalk Yes
17 R Timothy LeGeyt Canton
31 R Prasad Srinivasan Glastonbury
50 R Mike Alberts Woodstock
62 R Bill Simanski Granby
69 R Arthur O’Neill Southbury
70 R Rosa Rebimbas Naugatuck
71 R Anthony D’Amelio Waterbury
74 R Selim Noujaim Waterbury
108 R Richard A. Smith New Fairfield
113 R Jason Perillo Shelton
122 R Ben McGorty Shelton Yes
125 R Tom O’Dea New Canaan
131 R David Labriola Oxford
135 R John Shaban Redding
141 R Terrie Wood Darien
151 R Fred Camillo Greenwich
Secretary of the State’s office
Senate races uncontested by a major party
It’s one quarter of the 36-member Senate: four from each party
District Party Incumbent Hometown
6 D Terry Gerratana New Britain
9 D Paul Doyle Wethersfield
10 D Gary Holder-Winfield New Haven
11 D Martin Looney New Haven
16 R Joe Markley Southington
24 R Michael McLachlan Danbury
34 R Len Fasano North Haven
36 R Scott Franrz Greenwich
Secretary of the State’s office

Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

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