A candidate who has been seeking the Republican nomination in the 2nd District for just two months knocked off a candidate who has been vying for the nomination for 14 months—proving yet again anything can happen in the world of politics.
Doug Dubitsky, the beef farmer and lawyer from Chaplin, pushed Matthew Daly of Hebron off the first ballot and garnered widespread support in all three ballots.
Daly who was knocked out after the first round of balloting had been confident of his chances just moments before the voting starting. Sitting in the back of the room, he seemed stunned that his campaign had come to an abrupt end.
Janet Peckinpaugh, a veteran news anchor turned media consultant also vying for the nomination, received enough of the vote during the first two ballots to qualify for the primary, but didn’t make it to the third ballot. The balloting of delegates continues until a candidate receives a majority plus one of the vote and any candidate that receives 15 percent of the vote on any of the ballots qualifies for the primary ballot.
Daria Novak of Madison walked away with a majority of the vote in the 2nd District. She said she plans on kicking off her campaign by speaking to a crowd of 10,000 at Thompson International Speedway on May 30.
“People win over money and politics,” Novak, a former U.S. State Department employee, said after securing the endorsement.
Peckinpaugh said she feels great about getting enough delegate support to primary. “Now I can get my campaign staff together and start raising money,” she said.
Dubitsky, the stealth candidate, said he spent a lot of time talking to delegates, instead of talking to the media. “Hopefully my message is resonating,” he said.
Some delegates were surprised at how conservative the vote in the 2nd District turned out to be and wondered what it may mean for the U.S. Senate race.
Mark Zydanowicz for the 1st District, Justin Bernier, Bill Evans and Mark Greenberg for the 5th District are all possible contenders for the congressional primary in August even though they didn’t receive a majority of the vote.
State Sen. Sam Caligiuri secured 77 percent of the delegate vote in the 5th Congressional District with Justin Bernier following close behind. Caligiuri dropped his bid for the U.S. Senate in November to run against U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy in the House race.
“The public option that Chris Murphy fought for is the wrong way,” Caligiuri said as he accepted the nomination. “We’re going to talk about the right way to do it. The Republican way.”
Bernier won enough of the delegate vote to enter the Aug. 10 primary, promising to make it a closely watched contest.
“People want a choice that’s not an establishment,” he said. “They want a fresh start.”
Bill Evans and Mark Greenberg of the 5th District both opted for the direct primary. They will need approximately 1,860 signatures to enter the primary.
The 1st District also produced possible primary contender Mark Zydanowicz, marketing manager for Guida‘s Milk and Ice Cream of New Britian. While former GE Executive Ann Brickley secured 54.6 percent of the delegate votes, Zydanowicz followed close behind with 41.6 percent of the vote.
The 3rd and 4th Districts ended in two single nominees.
Jerry Labriola of Wallingford, the brother of state Rep. David Labriola, swept the 3rd with almost 90 percent of the vote.
State Sen. Dan Debicella of Shelton secured 77 percent of the delegate votes in the 4th Congressional District. Rob Merkle fell short by just 2 percent.
