CT 59th House District Election Results: Hall Vs. Calnen

Updated 11:39 p.m. - ENFIELD/EAST WINDSOR, CT — Voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide the state House District 59 race, which featured incumbent Republican Carol Hall being challenged by Democrat Dr. Jerry Calnen. With a number of absentee ballots yet to be counted, Hall had collected 4,362 votes to 3,538 for Calnen.

Election officials halted absentee ballot counting around 11:30 p.m., and will resume Wednesday morning. The above figures are from Enfield only; East Windsor numbers are not yet available.

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

(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.)

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."

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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."