Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayor Joe Ganim won a rare Democratic primary election redo Tuesday night, according to the Associated Press.
“Overwhelmingly, we won on the machines!” Ganim said earlier in the evening, as votes were still being counted. “Almost a thousand more people heeded our call and came out.”
The election redo — the city’s third mayoral contest in five months — threatened the sitting mayor’s eighth term. A state judge overturned Ganim’s narrow victory in the Democratic mayoral primary in September after Gomes, also a Democrat, released video of Ganim supporters depositing stacks of what appeared to be ballots into drop boxes. Connecticut has strict rules about who can help voters return their ballots.
Ganim, who denied knowledge of or involvement in any ballot fraud scheme, defeated Gomes again in the general election in November, but he was still forced to run again this week to continue his eighth term as mayor.
Still, the do-over is unlikely to put fraud concerns to rest.
Bridgeport, a working-class Democratic city about 62 miles from New York City, has been dogged by absentee ballot fraud allegations for years. Video of alleged ballot box stuffing has offered a stark visual of the allegations, capturing the attention of many, including former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
Last week, state authorities expanded their investigation into possible electioneering charges in Bridgeport, investigating whether voters were offered housing vouchers for votes.
This week, a judge rejected a Bridgeport attorney’s request to sequester ballots that city attorneys argued were the result of improperly handled ballot applications that a Gomes operative had circulated.
Both candidates have argued that fraudulent activities continue to this day, sparring in a contentious debate Monday.
“Let’s be honest with the people in the city of Bridgeport,” Ganim said, according to NBC Connecticut. “The hypocrisy has got to end.”
“The hypocrisy, sir, is that you have failed to take action. You still have people on your payroll who are operatives in your campaign and still carrying on the criminal activities as it is today. Nothing has changed,” Gomes fired back.
