Marx Wins Third Term as Elci Faults Trump

OLD LYME, CT – Two-term state Sen. Martha Marx, D-New London, defeated Republican challenger and radio personality Lee Elci Tuesday in her strongest showing yet.

Marx arrived at The Hideaway Restaurant in Old Lyme after 9 p.m. to declare victory based on results from New London, East Lyme and Old Lyme. 

“Old Lyme, Connecticut, is unbelievable and I thank you all,” she said. “I promise to work so hard to be the best state senator. I want to make all of you so proud.”

Unofficial results from the Connecticut Secretary of the State shortly after midnight showed Marx leading Elci with 60.2% of the vote. Only Waterford had not yet reported. 

She carried 75.7% of the vote in New London, 61.2% in East Lyme, 58.2% in Old Lyme, 58.2% in Old Saybrook and 50.5% in Montville. 

Elci won Bozrah with 54.8% of the vote and Salem with 50.6%.

Marx first won the seat in 2022 after state Sen. Paul Formica retired. In two previous campaigns against the popular East Lyme Republican, she carried only her home city of New London.  

Like this year, East Lyme and Old Lyme gave the New London Democrat the votes she needed to win. She defeated Republican Jerry Labriola Jr. with 52% of the vote and won reelection two years later with 56% against Old Lyme Republican Shaun Mastroianni. 

In a Tuesday phone call around 10:20 p.m., Elci acknolwedged the loss and said the night had been a disaster for Republicans across the state, including nearby incumbent candidates state Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, and state Rep. Greg Howard, R-Stonington. 

He said the blame can be attributed “1,000%” to the president of the United States. 

“This albatross hangs around the neck of Donald Trump,” he said. 

Elci’s campaign revolved around reducing government spending, limiting government overreach and challenging what he sees as a progressive shift in Connecticut politics. He also called for repealing the 2020 police accountability law that he said has made recruitment more difficult and undermined officers. 

He has described himself as an independent-minded conservative with libertarian leanings who agrees with Trump about 20% of the time. 

Now “everybody’s going to be a Democrat,” according to Elci. 

“It’s a national phenomenon because of dopey Trump,” he said.  

Marx, chair of the legislature’s Housing Committee, campaigned on efforts to address the state’s housing shortage, which she said has taken on crisis proportions. Her goal in the upcoming term is to expand protections for renters. 

She also called for extending the state’s Just Cause eviction protections – currently limited to tenants who are disabled or over 62 – to all renters and creating a state tax credit for renters. 

Citing rising household costs that she blamed on the Trump administration, Marx advocated for state assistance to help families manage food, heating and health care expenses and said she supports using Connecticut’s budget surpluses to cushion residents from potential federal program cuts. 

She also suggested reconsidering some of the state’s fiscal guardrails, including the spending cap, to give lawmakers more flexibility to address economic inequality.

Marx has described the guardrails, put in place in 2017, as effective at strengthening the state’s financial position. At the time of adoption, the Senate was tied and Democrats held a slim majority in the House.

The CT Mirror just after midnight reported that Democrats were projecting majorities of at least 30-6 in the Senate and 111-40 in the House, based on preliminary results.