Or maybe not. Caruso, according to the Connecticut Post, plans on challenging the results.
As of late last night, results showed Caruso trailing state Sen. Bill Finch, the Democrat Party-endorsed candidate, in the primary election for mayor.
But at 10 p.m., Caruso was not prepared to concede nor was he ready to address the crowd of about 300 gathered at Roberto’s Restaurant.
Not once were there any screams of joy.
Not once were there any shouts of enthusiasm or encouragement ringing through the refurbished one-time bank.
Not once were any polling results read.
Instead, there were only the whispers of people talking on cell phones to nearby friends.
By 10 p.m. Caruso, the 48-year-old eight-term state representative, had not yet addressed his supporters.
That was left to Bill Garrity, one of his campaign spokesmen.
“The suspense is going to last a little longer,” Garrity told the crowd. “We are going to keep counting. We are going to review what actions we may or may not take.”
The Caruso campaign seemed tothink there might have been some chicanery with the new voting machines and ballot counting.
The surprise of the night was that Finch apparently won in Black Rock. Not by much. Much like the 2005 Fabrizi primary, Caruso put up the close but no cigar numbers.
The loss for Caruso, a maverick Democrat disliked by his own party, was similar to four years ago when Mayor John M. Fabrizi defeated him during another Democratic primary. Caruso lost by just over 300 votes during that race.
Unofficial results from voting machines showed Finch had received 4,262 votes compared to 4,009 for Caruso. About 24 percent of the city’s 34,044 registered Democrats went to the polls.
Finch out polled Caruso in nearly every voting place, although the vote was usually close. Caruso showed strength at the Wilbur Cross and Winthrop schools, for example, but lost in Black Rock, where he was believed to be strong.
With only 24% of the registered Democrats turning out, the silent majority clearly spoke. They just don’t care.
Of course Caruso showed why he shouldn’t be thinking of a higher office with statements like this: “Everyone should go down to Seaside Park at 4 a.m. to see if any ballots or voting machines wash ashore.”
