What They’re Saying “Fazio Is Likely to Be Held Up as an Example of the Gop’s Momentum as the Midterm Election Season Begins”

Washington, DC — State Republicans Tuesday night scored the first flip in the country for either party in 2021, as Republican Ryan Fazio defeated liberal Democrat Alex Gevanter in Connecticut’s state Senate District 36 – a district Joe Biden won by more than 25% in 2020.

Gevanter’s inability during the closing stretch of the race to justify her support for hiking gas and energy prices as inflation skyrockets should offer a warning sign to Democrats across the country – Americans are sick and tired of their reckless tax and spend agenda and will hold them accountable for it at the ballot box in the upcoming election cycle. Meanwhile, state Republicans like Fazio who are prioritizing lowering taxes, creating jobs, protecting public education, and supporting law enforcement appear to be in a strong position in 2021-2022. Even the Democrat Legislative Campaign Committee is acknowledging that Fazio’s impressive victory means that “all of their gains since 2018 could be at risk.”

Tuesday’s success reaffirms that Republicans can win anywhere – from deep blue Connecticut and beyond – and that Republicans are off to a great start in 2021. Here’s what the media is saying about the state Republicans delivering the first flip of the cycle:

The Hill: Fazio is likely to be held up as an example of the GOP’s momentum as the midterm election season begins, and as voters in states like Virginia and New Jersey prepare to hit the polls this year… The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) had spotlighted Gevanter in emails to supporters in recent weeks. In one fundraising pitch sent over the weekend, they warned that losing the seat could be a harbinger of tough times to come.

Townhall: Republicans flipped a state legislature seat in Connecticut on Tuesday night, in a huge victory in a district President Joe Biden won by over 25 percent in the 2020 election. Republican Ryan Fazio decisively defeated Democrat Alex Gevanter in the state’s 36th Senate District and ended the state Senate’s Democratic supermajority. 

Breitbart:In what could be an indicator of things to come in the 2022 mid-term election, the GOP flipped a state senate seat in a Connecticut special election on Tuesday night – the first flip for either party in 2021…To illustrate the significance of tonight’s victory, the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) told its supporters in a fundraising email that a loss in Connecticut’s state Senate District 36 would put all of the committee’s 2018 gains in jeopardy. During the 2020 election cycle, Republicans wildly outperformed expert predictions when they flipped both legislative chambers in New Hampshire and held onto all of their 59 Republican-controlled chambers.

Guy Benson, Fox News Contributor: GOP pickup in a contested State Senate race in Connecticut — the sort of district Republicans must win back. Congratulations to my friend and fellow Wildcat @ryanfazi. He is earnest and hardworking & he earned this victory. ‘Senator Fazio’ has a nice ring to it.

The AP: Republican Ryan Fazio has won a special election for a Fairfield County state Senate seat that had been held by the GOP for decades before a surprise Democratic win in 2018.

Greenwich Time: About an hour-and-a-half after the polls closed Tuesday night in the special election for the 36th Senate District, Republican Ryan Fazio claimed victory in the three-way race.

Hartford Courant: In Fairfield County’s 36th Senate district, Ryan Fazio beat Alexis Gevanter in a special election Tuesday to return control of the district to Republicans. The district turned blue in 2018.