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U.S. Rep. Jim Himes survived a crazy day of voting, including a shortage of ballots in Bridgeport, to retain his seat in Congress.
Himes won a contentious race against Republican Dan Debicella for the 4th Congressional District seat after the GOP candidate from Shelton conceded late Tuesday. The tight race was thrown into chaos Tuesday afternoon when several polling districts in Bridgeport ran out of official ballots, preventing about 600 people from voting during scheduled poll hours. A judge ruled Tuesday that the polls in those districts must stay open until all the voters could cast ballots. A dozen voting districts stayed open until 10 p.m., two hours after polls statewide were supposed to close.
"At the end of the day, what happened tonight is really about the people who went out today to cast their ballots," Himes said at his victory rally in Bridgeport.
Himes said his work will continue anew to improve education and to help the millions of Americans out of work. "We are not out of this yet," he said. "The whole ball game is education. In the last couple of decades, we have been failing our children and that has to change."
Debicella, with supporters in Norwalk, said it was difficult to lose but said he was proud of the campaign he waged.
"Tonight, the voters of Fairfield County have spoken," Debicella said. "While the outcome was not what we hoped for, I'm proud of the campaign we ran."
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