Esty casts her ballot in Cheshire

Dispatch from Brian Lockhart:

Elizabeth Esty arrived at her polling place at Cheshire High School, voting around 11:45. Earlier in the morning, she had greeted voters in Danbury.
“Truly it is about getting your own voters to the polls,” she said. “That’s what it comes down to and that’s where our effort has been for six months.”

Elizabeth Esty votes Tuesday morning in Cheshire.

Esty said her campaign built a strong field operation for the primary that includes Democrats, independents and some Republicans and has been building on that, hoping to repeat the success for the general election.

It has been an odd year for Esty, who was considered by some a long shot upstart when she challenged her former legislative colleague – retiring House Speaker Chris Donovan, D-Meriden – for the nomination.

But her chances greatly improved during the primary when Donovan’s campaign was rocked by a federal probe into campaign contributions. Although Donovan himself has never been charged, his campaign manager and finance director were caught up in the scandal, and it cost Donovan at the polls in August.
“Yes, it’s been an unusual year,” Esty said. She said it was exciting to finally be able to cast her vote and to see others doing the same.
“It’s an important election,” she said.

Jacqueline Smith