Greenwich Election Results: Kelly Concedes In Race For House Seat

This story was updated at 1:20 a.m. Wednesday

UPDATE: Preliminary, unofficial numbers listed on the Secretary of State website early Wednesday morning indicate Republican incumbent Harry Arora has taken the lead in the race for the 151st House District over Democratic candidate Hector Arzeno.

The unofficial numbers indicate Arora leads with 7,212 votes, while Arzeno received 6,388 votes.

"We feel comfortable, but we're still going to wait for the numbers to be called," Arora said by phone Wednesday morning.

Though he was still waiting for official numbers before doing so, Arora said he felt comfortable saying he expected to declare victory.

"I feel very honored to have a second term, and I will try to work hard and earn a second term," Arora said. "I feel good that the district and the community has given me this opportunity."

If Arora declares victory, it will mark his second time being elected to the 151st House Dsitrict this year after previously winning the special election in January.

"They always say the first re-election is the toughest...I will work hard and leave no stone unturned to serve our community and advocate for it," Arora said.

Earlier in the night, Republican candidate Joe Kelly confirmed around 10 p.m. he had conceded in the race for the 150th House District against Democratic incumbent Steve Meskers.

Preliminary, unofficial numbers listed on the Secretary of State website early Wednesday morning indicate Meskers received 6,608 votes while Kelly received 5,150 votes plus an additional 277 votes.

"The numbers didn't seem to have any path for us to have a victory," Kelly said Tuesday night, "and we called Steve, who is a wonderful guy and a great opponent, and we conceded. I'm looking forward to him doing well."

Kelly was gathered with a small group of people at his home when results began trickling in.

"We had a great experience," Kelly said Tuesday evening. "We enjoyed the whole process...We took 2020 and made it into something very exciting, because we had never done something like this before, so it's a giant win for us. We're OK with [the results], and it's good that Steve's going on to do what he does in Hartford."

Kelly also thanked residents for voting and for their support.

"Everyone was so nice when we were going door to door," Kelly said, "and it was just a really great experience at the polls today. It was such a positive experience, everyone was so nice, and it reinforced my love for the town of Greenwich...everyone just made it worthwhile."

Meskers said Tuesday night he was "elated" and "thrilled" with the results.

In the race for the 149th House District, preliminary results on the Secretary of State website showed Democratic candidate Kathleen Stowe rceived 4,057 votes, while Republican candiate Kimberly Fiorello received 4,651 votes plus an additional 185 votes.

The district also includes part of Stamford, where unofficial results were not yet available as of 1:15 a.m.

UPDATE: As of 8:30 p.m., approximately 35,248 residents out of 41,560 eligible voters in town have cast their ballots, according to a tracker provided by the town Registrars of Voters office. This resulted in an 84.81% turnout rate thus far.

Earlier in the day, Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro said Greenwich went from a range of 4,000 to 5,000 absentee ballots to a range of 15,000 to 17,000 this year. He also noted his year's turnout is based more on residents' interest in the election than the manner in which they were able to vote.

"Studies show that new methods of voting have a small 'novelty effect' on voting," DeCaro said, "but, generally, turnout figures are based on interest."

Most local voters who shared their experiences said the process went smoothly Tuesday, despite new protocols in place due to the coronavirus crisis.

"I voted at Old Greenwich school. From start to finish, it may have taken 10 minutes," Betsy Kreuter said in a comment on Patch. "Line was short, moved quickly, poll workers well organized. Great job poll workers!"

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

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

GREENWICH, CT — For the first time in nearly 20 years, the 149th House District seat is up for grabs following Livvy Floren's decision not to seek re-election after 10 terms in office. Both Kathleen Stowe, a Democrat, and Kimberly Fiorello, a Republican, are seeking to serve the district, which covers part of Greenwich and a portion of North Stamford.

It is one of several races Greenwich voters made decisions on Tuesday. In addition to the big presidential and congressional races, all state House of Representative and Senate seats are up for grabs in Connecticut.

Voting operated a bit different this year thanks to a law which allowed absentee ballot voting for all voters in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the race between Stowe and Fiorello, both have previously served the town in an official capacity. Stowe currently serves as the Board of Education's vice chair while Fiorello has been a member of the Representative Town Meeting since 2017.

According to Stowe, the most pressing issues facing Connecticut are financial in nature.

"Connecticut faces real economic and fiscal challenges," Stowe said, "both in the short term as a result of the pandemic, as well as our long term fiscal position. At the same time, I see a tremendous opportunity to set ourselves up for a bright future. New families are moving here. Let's encourage them to stay and more to come by championing a strong local and state economy, by protecting our bucolic landscapes and by maintaining a top quality education system, all while preserving sound fiscal discipline."

She also noted the state's "work from home culture" and companies looking to leave New York could attract more businesses to Connecticut.

"We have an opportunity to grow our state," Stowe said, "and improve our fiscal health."

Fiorello also pointed to financial issues, declaring the most pressing issue facing the state is "fixing the economy for our taxpayers and businesses."

In response, Fiorello said she would be a "true budget hawk" and a strong defense against "new taxes and bad legislation."

She also said she hoped to "advance good legislation to reignite Connecticut's economy by making sure taxpayers and business owners can keep more of their hard-earned dollars."

For the 150th House District seat, Democratic incumbent Steve Meskers faces off against Joe Kelly, a Republican. Both are Greenwich residents, and both have previously served the town as a member of the RTM (Meskers) and the Board of Education (Kelly).

Having worked as a banker for 35 years, Meskers said he understood commerce and the need to grow Connecticut's economy.

"I also believe a progressive agenda on social issues is not in conflict with that," Meskers said. "A pro-growth strategy is what we need now to lift the tide in our cities and reduce the reliance of Fairfield County as the tax base for the state."

Kelly, meanwhile, has noted his platform follows "the four E's," which means pro-economy, pro-environment, pro-education and pro-equality.

"As a small business owner who has created many jobs in Connecticut," Kelly said, "I know that for our state to be successful, we must control and reduce state expenditures, limit the size of government and end the vicious cycle of increased taxation by the majority party. This will attract businesses and create jobs!"

Republican Harry Arora made headlines in January when he won a special election to choose a new state representative for Greenwich's 151st district, filling the seat left vacant by Fred Camillo after he was elected to the first selectman position last year.

"We won this because we together ran a great race," Arora said the night of the special election. "We won this because Greenwich has clearly told us that they reject the division and the policies the other party is suggesting, and they accept and embrace what we stand for."

Hoping to continue in his new position, Arora is running against Democratic candidate Hector Arzeno.

As a member of the RTM, Arzeno has served meeting's finance and alternate claims committees. In his Patch candidate profile, Arzeno cited "economic development and growth" as the most pressing issue facing Connecticut.

He also cited his more than forty years of experience in international finance as evidence he could handle the position.

"In these roles, I actively participated in the formation of an Inter-American Financial Institution with the Inter American Investment Corporation (IIC)," Arzeno said. "I acquired the skills I will utilize in my public service roles. These include conflict resolution, a disciplined work ethic and a tireless devotion to achieving goals."

The following are the key contested races that were on the ballot for Greenwich voters:

President/Vice President

Joe Biden/Kamala Harris (Democrat)
Donald Trump/Mike Pence (Republican) - Incumbent
Jo Jorgensen and Chip Cohen (Libertarian)
Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker (Green Party)

U.S. Congress

U.S. House District 4

Jim Himes (Democrat) - Incumbent
Jonathan Riddle (Republican)
Brian Merlen (Independent)

Local State Senate Race

36th Senatorial District

Alex Kasser (Democrat) - Incumbent
Ryan Fazio (Republican)

Local State Representative Races

149th House District

Kathleen Stowe (Democrat)
Kimberly Fiorello (Republican)

150th House District

Steve Meskers (Democrat) - Incumbent
Joe Kelly (Republican, Independent)

151st House District

Hector Arzeno (Democrat)
Harry Arora (Republican) - Incumbent

Registrar of Voters

Mary Hegarty (Democrat)
Fred DeCaro III (Republican, Independent)