HARTFORD, CT — The Connecticut Working Families Party is celebrating a historic night at the ballot box. The Party flipped 6 Republican-held seats (with several more outstanding as results come in), elected WFP champions to 3 seats previously held by moderate Democrats, and re-elected 6 significant incumbent champions. Its winners include Bob Fernandez (HD-48), Karen A. Martin (HD-99), David Kiner (SD-7), Jane Wisialowski (HD-23), Chad Cardillo (HD-83), Moise “Moses” Carelus (HD-31), Martha Marx (SD-20), Nick Menapace (HD-37), Nick Gauthier (HD-38), MJ Shannon (HD-117), Kaitlyn Shake (HD-120) and Rebecca Martinez (HD-22), with several outstanding races too close to call. 

“Working families in this state have been squeezed from both directions, and tonight they pushed back,” said Sarah Ganong, CT WFP State Director. “Republicans spent years voting against the $15 minimum wage, paid sick days and affordable housing, and this fall they campaigned on gutting the payroll tax that funds paid family leave. Inside the Democratic majority, the Moderate Caucus spent those same years protecting the charter lobby and corporate donors while rents, Eversource bills and healthcare costs kept climbing. Voters rejected both tonight.”

In August, CT WFP swept all five of its Democratic state legislative primaries. Tonight it took the same playbook into the general election: recruit leaders from the community, then back them with real field, digital and strategic support.

HD-31 shows how that works. CT WFP organized in Glastonbury months before Moise Carelus took Rep. Jill Barry’s caucus endorsement and then won the August primary. Barry had voted against paid family and medical leave and paid sick time. After losing, she switched parties and ran against Carelus as a Republican.

Incumbent champions held seats Republicans targeted from day one. Among them, Housing Committee Chair Martha Marx won a third term, and Reps. Nick Menapace and Nick Gauthier won re-election after flipping their seats by 99 and 174 votes in 2024.

“Democrats hold a supermajority, but the real fight over who state government works for happens inside that majority,” Ganong said. “Tonight we changed the math. In 2027, we’re not asking for a seat at the table — we’re deciding the major fights.”

That agenda includes:

• Rewriting the fiscal guardrails that have sent more than $10 billion in volatile revenue to reserves and pension debt since 2017
• Changing our regressive tax structure to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share
• Changing our education funding formula to increase resources for public schools 
• Holding Eversource accountable and lowering energy prices 
• Passing eviction protections that moderates fight behind the scenes