Guilford voters headed to the polls on Nov. 8 to weigh in on their choices for state senator and state representative, in addition to the State’s early voting question.

Incumbent Demcratic State Senator Christine Cohen was challenged by newcomer Republican Paul Crisci for the 12th District. Democrat Moira Radar and Republican Richard DiNardo campaigned for the open 98th State Representative seat vacated by newly elected State Comptroller Sean Scanlon.

In her bid for re-election, Cohen handily retained her seat, receiving 7,508 votes in Guilford while Crisci tallied 4,083 votes. District-wide, which encompasses Branford, North Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, and Madison, Cohen received 27,319 votes to Crisci’s 21,562.

In the race for the open 98th State Representative seat, Republican Richard DiNardo ran against Democrat Moira Rader. DiNardo received 3,481 votes in Guilford and 4,694 district-wide. Rader received 6,330 Guilford votes while tallying 7,905 district-wide. The 98th District includes Guilford and part of Branford.

Rader issued a press release after her victory stating she was grateful for the turnout and was excited about serving her District.

“From the moment I launched my candidacy for State Representative from the 98th District, I have been overwhelmed by and immensely grateful for the extraordinary support our neighbors of Guilford and Branford have shown me. I am humbled and thankful to the voters of this district for their trust and confidence in me. I’ve worked diligently to reach as many voters as possible with my message of commitment to public service and my focus on the issues that mean the most to our district’s families. That collective hard work and dedication has resulted in our win tonight,” Rader said in the release. “By working together, we can achieve a vision for Connecticut that seeks to provide our families and businesses truly affordable, accessible health care, protect women’s reproductive rights, expand mental health care, support our thriving public schools; strengthen gun safety laws, continue meaningful climate change action; and expand equitable voter access.”

DiNardo said he was also grateful for the opportunity to run, thanking his supporters and staff for helping him speak for constituents who, according to DiNardo, don’t get heard by Hartford.

“Obviously, it was an uphill battle, but I was heartened that we got close to forty percent of the vote. I think that we gave the people of this district a choice between candidates and I think we gave a voice to people who feel left out,” DiNardo said. “A lot of people in this district, especially people who live away from the shoreline, who live further north in the district, are really not doing that well. They are suffering economically and many lost businesses during the pandemic lockdowns and haven’t been able to get back on their feet. These people told me they feel that the legislature in Hartford is not listening to them and not sympathizing with them enough. I found that many of them felt that the Democrat majority was more interested, for instance, in climate change than in the price of heating fuel and electricity.”

With respect to the difficulty his campaign faced in countering a heavy opposition stronghold, DiNardo added, “When you have only one candidate…you deprive people of hope for change, and they wanted change above all. I’d like to think we laid some groundwork for change. We need a healthy robust two-party system. I think when you have two healthy parties, each of which could win an election you tend to get the best government because when one party is in danger of losing an election, they tend to push out the more extreme positions. When you have a vibrant two-party system both parties tend to move to the center, where most voters are.”

In the balloting for the referendum as to whether to adopt new early voting protocols via a Constitutional change, Guilford residents opted to approve the constitutional amendment measure by a 6,020 to 3,131 margin. The measure passed statewide as well, setting the groundwork for Connecticut voters to now have the early voting option.