Bridgeport, Connecticut Mayor Joe Ganim announced victory in a rare election Tuesday night, though votes are still being counted.
“We won in cars!” Ganim said. Almost a thousand more people heeded our call and came out.
His opponent, John Gomes, has not missed a race yet to be called by the Associated Press.
The runoff election — the city’s third mayoral election in five months — threatened the sitting mayor’s eighth term. In September, a state judge overturned Ganim’s narrow victory after Gomes, a Democrat, released video of Ganim supporters placing stacks of what appeared to be ballots in ballot boxes. Connecticut has strict rules about who can help voters return their ballots.
Ganim, who denied information about it or implicated in any ballot fraud scheme, defeated Gomez again in November’s general election, but he still had to run again this week to continue his eighth term as mayor. If he loses, another general election will be held next month.
Regardless of who wins, concerns about fraud are unlikely to go away.
Bridgeport, a working-class Democratic city about 62 miles from New York, has been dogged by allegations of ballot fraud for years. A video of a ballot allegedly being thrown into a ballot box has caught the attention of many, including former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, providing a stark image of the allegations.
End weekstate authorities have expanded their investigation into possible campaign charges in Bridgeport, looking into whether voters were offered housing vouchers for voting.
This week, a judge overruled a Bridgeport attorney to demand the delivery of ballots city attorneys claimed were the result of improper ballot applications distributed by a Gomes operative.
Both candidates claimed the fraudulent activity has continued to this day during Monday’s contentious debate.
“Let’s be honest with the people of Bridgeport,” Ganim said. According to NBC Connecticut. “Hypocrisy must be stopped”
“Hypocrisy, sir, you have not taken action. There are still people on your payroll operating your campaign and continuing to commit crimes as they are today. Nothing has changed,” Gomes replied.
Associated Press contributed.