CT 59th House District Election Results: Hall Retains Seat

ENFIELD/EAST WINDSOR, CT — With thousands of absentee finally counted late Wednesday afternoon, incumbent Republican Carol Hall held off challenger Dr. Jerry Calnen to retain her 59th District seat in the General Assembly for a third term.

By the time officials halted absentee ballot counting around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Hall had collected 4,642 votes to 3,539 for Calnen, according to unofficial tallies provided by the office of the Secretary of the State. The final total 5,870 to 4,779 in favor of Hall.

The 59th District represents about half of Enfield, including the Hazardville section, as well as the Warehouse Point area of East Windsor.

"I am grateful to the people of Enfield and East Windsor for the opportunity to serve them for another two years," Hall said. "As their voice in Hartford, I will continue to fight for what is right and in the best interests of the fine people of the 59th District."

"I appreciate the opportunity to have run, and although I am disappointed with the results, I respect the decision of the people of the 59th District," Calnen said.

Hall, 60, earned the seat previously held by Democrat David Kiner, who opted not to run for re-election in 2016. Hall topped former Planning & Zoning Commission chairman Tony DiPace by 799 votes, becoming the first Republican to represent the district since Rosario Vella was elected in 1972. In a 2018 rematch, Hall again prevailed over DiPace by a margin of 834 votes.

She has been a licensed real estate agent in Connecticut for 34 years, and previously served two separate stints on the Enfield Town Council, totaling 13 years.

"In the past four years, as the state representative for the 59th District, I have continued to fight against unfunded mandates that drive up our local taxes," Hall told Patch. "I fought for the spending and bonding caps in the budget. This was especially important because it has left us with a strong rainy day fund which will be invaluable in helping address the huge deficits we are now seeing."

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

• Election Results: Keep Up-To-Date On Every Race In CT
• CT Presidential Election Results: Donald Trump Vs. Joe Biden
• CT Election Results: 5 Congressional House Races Up For Grabs

Calnen, 72, is a retired pediatrician who has never held elected office, but feels his years of experience in the medical field will benefit citizens during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

"As a primary care physician, I have the expertise to address the most significant issues of the day: COVID-19, access to medical care and addiction services, and the rising crisis of child and adolescent mental health disorders," he told Patch.

Calnen said state government has done "an exceptional job" during the pandemic, despite a "lack of leadership" in federal government.

"Considering especially the lack of leadership at the national level, Connecticut leadership has done an exceptional job managing the pandemic," he said. "However, we need to recognize the stark reality that a future pandemic is inevitable, and we must be prepared for it. Connecticut must partner with the federal government to see to it that resources and expertise are immediately available to deal with it, as well as an infrastructure to prevent the kind of chaotic response we witnessed with COVID-19."

Hall said failure of Connecticut's Democratic leaders has caused many of the state's problems.

"The one-party system is the state has put us dead last in recovery," she said. "I think until we work hard to get rid of the one-party system and learn to work across the aisle the outcome will continue to be the same. Higher taxes, less for your schools and people leaving our state in droves. We can't keep electing a one-party system and expect things to change."