State Rep. Travis Simms (D-140) has prevailed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, besting challenger Carleton Giles by a vote of 267 to 214, Democratic Registrar Stuart Wells said.
Simms will face Republican challenger Enrique Santigo in the general election this November.
Simms was first elected to the seat in 2018, after winning a primary battle with Colin Hosten. The tally in that one was Simms 542 to Hosten’s 494– a total of 1,036 voters overall.
Tuesday’s primary drew just 481 total votes.
A tight race had been expected, but not such a low turnout.
“I’m truly honored by the outcome of the primary election and thank all my supporters for rallying behind me,” Simms said. “The support from our community means everything to me. I am happy to be moving forward to the general election in November and will continue our work to ensure that Norwalk remains a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”
Simms served on the Common Council for nearly a decade before running for state representative in 2018. He is also well-known as a former World Boxing Association super welterweight champion, with a road named after him in South Norwalk.
Giles is a pastor who only recently moved to Norwalk. But as a retired Norwalk police officer, with 33 years’ experience here, he has deep ties in the community.
“We were all disappointed with the low turnout,” Giles said. “I was happy to offer a choice to the good people of the 140th. They have decided. Representative Simms and I were together when the deciding numbers were posted, I offered him my congratulations and full support as a constituent.”
District 140 is partly in central Norwalk, with a chunk of South Norwalk.
There were also Republican primaries Tuesday, for U.S. Congress and Senate seats. Wells reported the Norwalk-only tally as:
U.S. Senate candidates
- Gerry Smith, 196
- Mathew Corey, 303 (winner with 19,296 votes statewide)
U.S. House District 4
- Bob MacGuffie, 257
- Michael Goldstein, 254 (winner with 53.7% of the state vote)
Wells said 51 Democrats voted early, while 36 Republicans used that option.
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