Westport Election 2016: Steinberg Victorious in 136th State House District, Hwang Wins Re-Election

Update: Republican incumbent Tony Hwang defeated Democratic challenger Phil Dwyer in the 28th Senatorial District with an unofficial total of 61 percent of the vote, according to the Connecticut Post.

Update: Jonathan Steinberg, the Democratic incumbent, defeated Westport Republican Planning and Zoning Chair Cathy Walsh to retain his 136th State House District post, reports Westport Now.

Update: Toni Boucher, the Republican incumbent, has won re-election for the 26th State Senate post, reports The Hour.

She defeated Democrat Carolanne Curry, a Westport resident and former welfare director for New Haven and Bridgeport, for a fifth term.

Original story: Westport residents will head to the polls on Nov. 8 for the 2016 Presidential election.

Polling places in town, and throughout the state, will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., and turnout already has been strong at polling sites in Westport.

A small fire outside of the Greens Farms polling site Tuesday morning, believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette, temporarily disrupted voting, according to Assistant Fire Chief Michael Kronick. Voters and election staff were briefly evacuated, but it was not a serious disruption:

"This morning at 9:17 AM the Westport Fire Department responded to 17 Morningside Drive South, Greens Farms Elementary School for the reported fire on the outside of the building," Kronick wrote in a statement.

"First arriving fire department units found a fire on the exterior of the building in the area of the natural gas service and requested the additional units to assist. Although school was not in session the school was open as a polling station for today’s presidential election and the building was evacuated by firefighters with the assistance of Westport Police Department. The fire was quickly extinguished with damage being limited to a plastic fence and the surrounding landscape and the building was quickly reoccupied so that voting could continue. An investigation into the cause of the fire found that the cause was improperly disposed of smoking material."

"I'm surprised by how big the turnout has been today," said Westporter Larry Locke at the polling site at Long Lots School. A steady stream of cars were seen pulling into and out of the parking lots.

Locke declined to name who he voted for, but said he generally shares "the views of most people in Westport," which is largely considered to lean toward Democrats.

"Heading into the election, no one seemed to be too enthused by the choices, so I thought turnout could end up being low," said Locke. "But then [FBI Director and Westport resident James] Comey came out with his statements about the emails, and in Westport maybe that actually helped Hillary [Clinton] because people were upset by how that was handled."

Comey's actions did not make a difference to fellow Westport voter Anne Wells, who told Patch that she voted for Clinton.

"I think she's very qualified to do the job, but this election has highlighted the fact that this country needs peace and reconciliation," said Wells. "There's a lot of work to do, because I don't think we realized just how broken things are in this country. This election has really shown the dark side."

On the ballot, registered voters in Westport will be able to select candidates for president and vice president, United States senator, representatives to U.S. Congress, state senator and state representative.

The choice for 26th Senatorial District involves incumbent Republican Toni Boucher, a Chief Deputy Minority Leader, who is seeking her fifth term, and Democrat Carolanne Curry, a Westport resident and former welfare director for New Haven and Bridgeport.

• To read about the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut, and the five Congressional District races, see this related story: Connecticut U.S. Senate and Congressional Races: What You Need to Know

For the 28th Senatorial District, some Westport voters will also have a choice between Republican incumbent Tony Hwang and Democratic challenger Philip Dwyer. Hwang is a ranking member on the Housing and Labor and Public Employees committees, and a member of the Commerce and Veterans’ Affairs committees, and Dwyer is Chair of the Fairfield Board of Education, and a retired president and CEO of the Central Connecticut Coast YMCA.

The 136th State House District pits incumbent Democrat Jonathan Steinberg, who is seeking his fourth term, against Westport Planning and Zoning Chair Catherine A. Walsh, a Republican.

In the 143rd State House District, Republican incumbent Gail Lavielle is running unopposed.

The candidates for president and vice president are Republicans Donald Trump and Mike Pence, Democrats Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, Libertarians Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, and Green Party Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka.

For United States Senate, the candidates are incumbent Richard Blumenthal, Democrat, Dan Carter, Republican, Richard Lion, Libertarian, and Jeffrey Russell, Green Party.

For United States Congress, the choice for the Fourth District is between incumbent Jim Himes, a Democrat, and John Shaban, a Republican.

Click here to find your Connecticut sample ballots.

If you want to know where to vote on Election Day click this link which is from the CT Secretary of State’s Office.