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ROXBURY Although the GOP kept control of the states 32nd Senatorial District in Tuesdays special election, Democrats came closer to winning the heavily Republican district than ever before, losing by 10 points rather than 20 or more.

GOP State Rep. Eric Berthel, of Watertown, received 10,147 votes, while Democratic challenger Greg Cava got 8,321 votes.

Cava, of Roxbury, first ran for the seat in November, when he lost to Republican Robert Kane, an incumbent seeking his fifth term by nearly 16,000 votes out of 50,000 cast, or by 32 percent of the vote. In January, Kane stepped down to become a state auditor, prompting the special election.

Petitioning candidate Dan Lynch, an unaffiliated voter from Middlebury who ran on a $1,000 budget, finished a distant third in the district, which covers 10 towns between Bethlehem and Oxford, including Southbury, Washington, Roxbury and Bridgewater.

Cava said he was glad to receive a higher percentage of the vote than many previous Democratic candidates. He won Washington, Roxbury, Southbury and Seymour and was close in a few other towns.

People decided its time to stop leaving their democracy to chance and to take matters into their own hands, he said. I think thats really a great thing for our democracy.

National Democrats are touting Cavas showing as a sign of the publics discontent with President Donald Trump. Newly elected Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez had this to say:

Democrats also came within approximately 1,800 votes of flipping the most Republican Senate district in the entire state, showing that even Republicans running in GOP strongholds arent safe from the shadow of Trump, Perez said. Republican politicians across the country should be shaking in their boots at the thought of defending Trumps disastrous presidency at the ballot box.

Berthel could not be reached for comment Wednesday, but in an interview following his victory Tuesday he said Cavas appeal to voters dissatisfied with Trump backfired. He said the districts voters were more interested in state issues.

Other possible factors in Cavas closing the gap include it was a special election, which tend to draw far fewer voters than presidential elections. The combined vote for Cava and Berthel was about 1,000 greater than Cava received in November.

The presence of a third-party candidate was another factor, as was Cavas run against a five-term incumbent in November, as opposed to a one-term state representative seeking to move to the Senate.

The 32nd District race received national attention in other ways. Cava had volunteers helping from across the state and country. He even had a phone bank set up in Los Angeles for a month. A production crew from Vice Video followed Cava throughout the campaign, filming a documentary that is set to air online.

People are concerned, Cava said. People are more electrified about politics now since November.

Even with the national attention, Cava said, most of his conversations while campaigning focused on state issues, including the economy, the budget and womens issues.

Cava believes the race gained attention because it was one of the first races following the presidential election and featured a Democrat running in a historically Republican district.

It was gratifying, but also humbling to be part of peoples aspirations and hope, he said.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345

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Democrat closes gap in Republican district - Danbury News Times