Norwalk Primary Tie Confirmed, Second Election Set For October

NORWALK, CT — A recount Friday morning confirmed a tie between John Kydes and Tyler Fairbairn in Norwalk's District C Democratic primary election, which will result in a second election between the two candidates next month.

Following the recount, held in-person at City Hall and broadcast over Zoom, Democratic Registrar of Voters Stuart Wells confirmed the vote totals revealed during the process were identical to the numbers on Election Night, with Kydes and Fairbairn receiving 188 votes each.

Jenn McMurrer, the top vote-getter Tuesday night, secured her spot on the ballot in November as one of the Democratic nominees for the District C Common Council with 207 votes. Jennifer McAllister received 175 votes.

As a result of the still-standing tie, an "adjourned primary" between only Kydes and Fairbairn will be held Oct. 5, Wells said. Voting will once again take place at Marvin Elementary School and Nathan Hale Middle School.

"No ballots were found that could have changed the results when voter intent was considered," Wells said in a follow-up email, "and the recanvass officials counted the ballots by hand and verified the tabulators' numbers."

Fairbairn said the results were exactly what he expected and thanked Wells and his staff for their work throughout the process.

"They did such an awesome job," Fairbairn said. "Having the Zoom, it was as transparent as can be and it was exactly what we were expecting. Tomorrow we'll get ready to do it again in October."

See also: 2 Candidates Tie In Norwalk Primary Election, Recount Planned

McMurrer agreed the recount went smoothly and commended the entire team at City Hall. Like Fairbairn, she was not surprised by the results and was ready to support her running mate during a second primary.

"We're going to just do what we did before, but harder and better," McMurrer said. "May the best man win."

McMurrer also noted she has already started having conversations about her own campaign as she looks ahead to Nov. 2.

"We're going to put in the work," McMurrer said.

While Wells acknowledged a flat tie was very unique, he said the process for the Oct. 5 election will be pretty much the same as others. Though a second winner was not announced Friday, Wells said he was pleased with the very public recount process his team was able to perform.

"I think in that sense it's a step up in transparency," Wells said, "which is what we're trying to do with all of our stuff."