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Democrats poised to keep CT’s constitutional offices

Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas celebrates during an Election Night Party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford.

By Keith M. Phaneuf and P.R. LockhartPublished Nov 3, 2026, 10:02 PMUpdated Nov 3, 20266 min read

Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas celebrates during an Election Night Party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford.

" data-large-file="https://ctmirror.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/ELECTION-NIGHT-SG-1103-16-771x514.jpg" /> Democrats were poised to sweep the races Tuesday night for constitutional offices that made up Connecticut’s underticket.

The incumbents each held leads of roughly 20 percentage points as results continued to trickle in. Around 10 p.m., the speeches began, although the Democrats were careful not to call them victory speeches as they addressed a sizable crowd gathered at Hartford’s Dunkin’ Park for Gov. Ned Lamont’s watch party, an event that doubled as state Democrats’ election night headquarters.

William Tong will serve a third term as attorney general while Sean Scanlon, Stephanie Thomas and Erick Russell secured their second four-year stints as comptroller, secretary of the state and treasurer, respectively.

On a night when Connecticut Democrats fared well across the board, underticket candidates benefitted from campaigns that prioritized affordability and opposing many policies of President Donald Trump.

“It’s people not being fooled by what they’ve seen by this [Trump] administration,” said Russell, of New Haven, who beat Fred Wilms, a banking executive from Norwalk and former GOP state representative.

Treasurer Erick Russell appears during an Election Night Party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford.

Russell has greatly improved returns on state pension benefits and brokered a compromise to launch Connecticut’s “Baby Bonds” program to combat generational poverty.

Russell called attention to the history of civil rights struggles that have informed his time in office, saying that the current political moment will require action.

“This is our moment as a generation to take back our country,” he said to applause.

After leaving the stage, Russell went to call his opponent to discuss the race.

Russell and Scanlon, a Guilford Democrat, both campaigned on the huge state surpluses Connecticut has used to temper big federal cutbacks in healthcare and human services programs.

Scanlon, who defeated former Westport First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker, ran on reforms made to pension systems and audits designed to curb wasteful spending in the Connecticut State Colleges and University system. But the comptroller also noted his key role in helping Lamont, a fiscally moderate-to-conservative Democrat, find middle ground with more progressive Democrats on spending issues.

“I guess I’m forever somebody who likes to find consensus, like I did as a legislator,” said Scanlon, who served four terms in the House before becoming comptroller.

Comptroller Sean Scanlon gives a victory speech during an Election Night Party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford.

The comptroller made sure to emphasize that he was not giving a victory speech Tuesday evening but still framed the night as a sign that voters in the state supported calls for change both in Connecticut and nationally.

“I think we have a mandate in this country and in this state to keep doing the work we’re doing but also to go beyond what we have been doing,” Scanlon told The Connecticut Mirror after leaving the stage. “And now that we’re finally in a better fiscal position, we can start to do the big things we’ve always wanted to do.”

He specifically cited affordable healthcare as a goal he supports.

Before results came in, both Wilms and Tooker said they felt good about their campaigns, which focused on the top issues facing those offices.

The Democratic-controlled General Assembly has called increasingly for Connecticut to ease budget caps that have generated huge surpluses since 2017 and helped shrink the state’s pension debt by $11 billion over the past seven years, Tooker said.

But Connecticut, which struggled with poor savings habits for seven decades prior to 2011, still ranks as one of the most indebted states per capita in the nation, carrying about $80 billion in bonded debt and unfunded retirement benefit liabilities.

“Once you start with that statement, people start to listen,” Tooker said.

Wilms, a banking executive and former state legislator, noted Connecticut’s failure to secure strong returns on its pension investments for decades before reforms began. And he called for a dramatic overhaul of the treasurer’s office.

Rather than leaving most investment authority in the hands of one elected official, voters should elect a treasurer who serves in conjunction with eight investment experts appointed by state leaders, he argued. Only collectively would they oversee billions in state assets.

“Is it right to have such power in the hands of an individual, personally?” Wilms said, repeating a question he often asked voters. “People got that intuitively.”

Thomas, a Norwalk Democrat who outpolled Fairfield real estate investor Peter Lumaj in the race for secretary of the state, said she worked hard to counter a recurring Trump message that states’ elections are severely susceptible to fraud.

Thomas said she often reminded voters that Connecticut municipalities have one registrar from each major party who work in conjunction with the secretary of the state’s office to organize elections and ensure both physical and cyber security. “We are protecting not only the integrity of the vote but the election workforce as well,” she added.

The secretary of the state noted that she could not speak much as the results of her race had not been decided yet but emphasized to the crowd that she wants to continue to create space for civic engagement within the state.

In comments to the CT Mirror, Thomas added that should a second term become official, she wants to modernize the election system while continuing to build on other reforms made in the state.

“We need more and more people learning how to engage with government so that they can have a voice,” she said. “So there’s a lot more to do.”

Lumaj could not be reached for comment.

Attorney General William Tong speaks during an Election Night Party on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 at Dunkin’ Park in Hartford.

And Tong, a Stamford Democrat who won his third term as attorney general, said he showed his office could safeguard families’ budgets despite numerous national policies that have driven up the cost of living.

Tong took legal action and reached agreements to combat price-fixing involving prescription drugs, concert and other event tickets, and even eggs.

“There’s a lot of talk about affordability, to the point where it’s almost not clear what the word means anymore,” Tong said. “I mean, what’s more important to people at the grocery store than buying a dozen eggs?”

Tong was fired up as he addressed the crowd, vowing to continue to use his position to pursue legal action against large corporations, specifically calling attention to social media companies.

“We must continue to use our sovereign power in court to stop the monopolies and cartels from driving up prices,” he said. “We must stop the tech bros and the billionaires from extracting ever more from us and hoarding their wealth.”

The attorney general also said that he would continue to pursue aggressive action on artificial intelligence and data centers, issues that have fueled anxieties in communities around the state.

His GOP opponent, Westport attorney John Bolton, had argued Tong used the office more for political gain than to assist those in need.

Bolton said Connecticut needs to do more to shield thousands of residents with out-of-state employers from the threat of double taxation, and to curb the polluting actions of neighboring states.

“I think the office [of attorney general] really needs to be returned to the people of Connecticut,” he said.

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