Three Takeaways from the 2025 Local Elections in Connecticut

It’s been about two weeks since residents headed to the polls to vote in local elections across southwest Connecticut. We wanted to take a step back and review some key takeaways from the 2025 elections based on unofficial results from the Secretary of State’s Office.

1. Democrats won big across the region. 

Across southwest Connecticut, many communities either turned blue or got even bluer. 

In Stamford, Democratic Mayor Caroline Simmons won re-election decisively, capturing more than 65% of the vote, or more than 16,000 votes, compared to 31.3% of the vote for Republican challenger Nicola Tarzia. In addition, the city’s legislative body, the Board of Representatives, is now entirely Democratic—all 40 seats. 

In Norwalk, residents elected Democrat Barbara Smyth to succeed longtime Democratic Mayor Harry Rilling. The city also elected Democrats to all 15 seats on the City Council (formerly Common Council), and all seats on the Board of Education. Smyth took in almost 55% of the vote, capturing just under 11,000 votes, while Republican challenger Vinny Scicchitano had 37% of the vote. Petitioning candidate John Kydes took in nearly 1,500 votes or almost 7.5%

Westport saw a shift, as voters elected Democrats Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich as First Selectman and Selectman. The current First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker was a Republican who had launched a campaign for governor, but has since dropped out of the race. 

2. Darien and Greenwich elect Republican incumbents. 

Two communities that did not follow the blue trend were Greenwich and Darien, which supported their incumbent First Selectmen in their re-election bids. 

Greenwich’s Fred Camillo took home 56.3% of the vote, or more than 10,000 votes, compared to 43.7% of the vote for Democratic challenger Anthony Moor. 

In Darien, First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky ran unopposed in his bid for re-election. 

3. Voter turnout was up across the region for municipal races, but still lower than presidential and state election years. 

More residents voted in this year’s municipal elections, compared to the 2023 local ones. While presidential elections draw massive numbers, it’s often a struggle to get out voters for sole municipal elections. 

For example, across the state for the 2024 election, 76.2% of registered voters participated in elections that year. In 2022, when Governor Ned Lamont was up for reelection, along with Senator Richard Blumenthal and Congressional Representatives, almost 58% of registered voters participated. In this year’s 2025 municipal election, just 38% of voters participated. But that is a greater % than in 2023, when just under 34% of registered voters participated. 

Communities with competitive elections saw some of the biggest increases in voter participation. In Norwalk, almost 20,000 residents voted in the mayoral race, compared to just over 15,000 in 2023.