CT 58th House District Election Results: Arnone Vs. Turner

Updated 11:42 p.m. - ENFIELD, CT — Voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide the state House District 58 race, which featured incumbent Democrat Tom Arnone being challenged by Republican town chair Mary Ann Turner.

With a number of absentee ballots still to be counted, Arnone had amassed 5,410 votes to 4,415 for Turner. Election officials halted absentee ballot counting around 11:30 p.m., and will resume Wednesday morning.

The 58th District represents about half of Enfield, including the Thompsonville section.

(The votes are currently being counted and continue to refresh this article for updates as the night progresses. To receive free, real-time election updates from Patch click here.)

Historically, the 58th District (previously the 45th District) has been a Democratic stronghold. Since implementation of the district alignment in 1966, just one Republican has been elected to represent the 58th: Greg Stokes, who took advantage of incumbent David Alexander's legal difficulties to oust the Democrat by 680 votes in 2016. Arnone reclaimed the seat for his party two years later, besting Stokes by a 638 vote margin.

Arnone, 59, served as a member of the Public Health, Planning and Development, and Regulations Review Committees in his initial legislative session. Prior to being elected to the state House, he spent four years on the Enfield Town Council, following tenures on the Board of Education and Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Agency.

Stay on top of all the returns from across Connecticut and our five congressional districts by checking these stories throughout the night.

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He said repercussions from the coronavirus pandemic are a top priority for Connecticut.

"Connecticut was fortunate to have over $2 billion in reserves to help economic recovery," Arnone told Patch. "We should continue to support businesses through distributing the CARES Act stimulus, paycheck protection program, business response line of credit program. Continue opening up our economy following science and infection rates and continued testing."

Turner, 63, has chaired the Enfield Republican Town Committee for 14 years. She is a longstanding member of the Enfield Zoning Board of Appeals, and also serves on the Economic Development Commission.

She has openly criticized Arnone and his fellow Democrats for voting in favor of a controversial police accountability bill, drafted in the wake of several officer-involved killings throughout the country. The bill, signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont in late July, will significantly reform policing in the state, including mandates that all officers wear body cameras when interacting with the public. Chokeholds, strangleholds and other tactics restraining oxygen and blood flow are now banned.

"I stand with our police and correction officers and disagree completely with the passing of the Police Accountability Bill," Turner told Patch. "This bill should never have been brought up during the special session in July. It was not vetted properly, public participation was limited and rushed, and getting the people who are affected by this terrible bill to the table and ask for their help was ignored. This bill was a political maneuver and did little, if anything, to make our communities safer."