Romney grabs majority of Bristol GOP votes

Mitt Romney

BRISTOL – Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney garnered 54 percent of the 735 votes cast by Bristol Republicans in Tuesday’s presidential primary.
Romney, who is virtually certain to gain the GOP’s nomination to challenge President Obama in November, collected 400 votes from the 12 percent of GOP loyalists in Bristol who bothered to turn out at the polls.
Finishing second was U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who racked up 140 votes. He was followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who tallied 120.
Also collecting votes was former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who got 64 despite suspending his campaign earlier this month.
Ten GOP voters opted for uncommitted.
There are 5,661 registered Republicans in the city.
Turnout was light because of the widespread belief that Romney, who swept a series of primaries Tuesday, had the nomination locked up after Santorum stopped campaigning actively.

 Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Few Republicans bother to vote today

Turnout for today's GOP presidential primary is "very light," according to Gary Schaffrick, an assistant registrar.As of noon in Bristol, only 256 of the city's 5,694 registered Republicans had showed up to vote in the nearly meaningless presidential primary expected to be won by former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.Until early April, there had been some hope the contest might prove a real one.But the decision several weeks ago by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum to suspend his campaign put an end to any drama surrounding the race.Romney had the battle won as soon as Santorum quit, though former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Texas congressman Ron Paul remain on the ballot as well.The polls are open until 8 p.m. today. Only registered Republicans can vote.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Christie's coming to Connecticut

Gov. Dannel Malloy might want to barricade the interstates, but like it or not, his New Jersey nemesis is coming to Connecticut.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is slated to head for Bristol in late April or May for a fundraiser at the home of Wally Barnes and Barbara Franklin, followed  by an appearance at a long-postponed Lincoln Day Dinner for Bristol Republicans."Be on the lookout" for solid news of the event, said TJ Barnes, the city's GOP chairman.
Barnes said the logistics are a bit daunting -- apparently coordinating it all with the Romney presidential campaign is less than simple -- but it will all come together."Chris Christie is worth waiting for," Barnes told the Bristol Republican Town Committee this week.
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

"Impressive" turnout in Bristol for presidential showdown

In the largest turnout for a presidential primary in the city’s history, Bristol voters threw their support behind Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Over 40 percent of the 18,749 eligible voters in the city – Democrats and Republicans, but no independents – cast a ballot despite rainy, foggy weather Tuesday.
“That’s impressive,” said Art Mocabee, the city’s Republican Party chief.
In the hottest contest of the day in Democrat-dominated Bristol, Clinton grabbed 57 percent of the vote compared to Barack Obama’s 41 percent.
“That’s close in this town,” said Mayra Sampson, a former city Democratic chairwoman who backed Obama.
Standing in the mist outside Stafford School, Rick Centoni said he'd come to cast a vote for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York."She's more qualified than anyone else," Centoni said.But, he said, he's impressed with Obama also and hopes that Clinton will tap him for her vice presidential running mate."They'd be a good ticket," Centoni said.At Greene-Hills School, Brian Brady said he's a registered Democrat, but never votes for them in the general election because the party isn't what it was.He said he voted for Clinton because he viewed her as the weaker candidate for the Democrats."I figured that would flip the burger to the cheesy side," he said, and perhaps help the GOP win in November.His wife, Kathy Brady, wasn't so calculating.She said she voted for Obama because "he represents change."
On the GOP side, McCain garnered 46 percent of the vote while Mitt Romney, his closest challenger, got 33 percent. Mike Huckabee snagged 11 percent.
"I'm happy," said Bristol city Councilor Mike Rimcoski, a McCain backer. "I think he'll lock it up tonight."
Registrars reported they were busy all day but had no problems at the polls aside from the number of independents who showed up hoping to vote.
City Clerk Therese Pac said she believes the turnout was higher than any previous presidential primary in Bristol.
But Terry Parker, an election official at Greene-Hills, said that municipal primaries sometimes attract more voters. A mayoral showdown in the 1970s between Frank Longo and Don Cassin drew a 57 percent turnout for a primary, he said.
Overall, there were 6,453 votes cast in the Democratic primary and 1,628 votes in the Republican primary. That means that a little less than half the Democrats in town voted Tuesday while only about a third of Republicans did.
The final tally indicates that McCain got 750 votes while Romney secured 547. Huckabee had 184 while Ron Paul collected 84.
On the Democratic side, Clinton rounded up 3,681 votes while Obama trailed with 2,588.
In both parties, a smattering of people voted for candidates who have dropped out or they picked uncommitted. The only other active candidate on the ballot, former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, got nine votes.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Mocabee backs Romney

I asked a bunch of politicians today who they support in Tuesday's presidential primary. City Republican Party Chairman Art Mocabee weighed in first:

As a chairman, I should remain neutral, however, I can tell you that in November, Bristol Republicans conducted a "Straw Poll" among our loyalists and found that Rudy was the front runner. Well, we all know the wisdom of that choice! The second place finisher in the Bristol straw poll, who was also the first place finisher in a straw poll conducted by State Republicans in Middletown last week was Mitt Romney. However, recent state wide polling suggests that Senator McCain is the front runner in CT now. Breaking from tradition, I personally like the more conservative Romney and will support him.

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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com