Republican Amy Romano, the chair of the Shelton Board of Education, defeated Democrat Mike Duncan in a Connecticut state House special election.

“Unofficial results showed Romano defeating Democrat Mike Duncan, a member of the Water Pollution Control Authority, by a vote of 1,638 to 1,479 in the 113th House District of Shelton, succeeding Jason Perillo,” CT Mirror reports.

🚨 JUST IN: Amy Romano (R) defeats Mike Duncan (D) in the Connecticut State House District 113 special election, a GOP HOLD.

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 23, 2025

Per CT Mirror:

Perillo resigned in February after winning a special election for the state Senate seat vacated by Republican Kevin C. Kelly of Stratford, who left the Senate to become a judge of the Superior Court.

The contest in the 113th House District comes as special elections in some parts of the U.S. have been a test of the degree to which the falling approval rate of President Donald J. Trump has harmed the GOP.

Not so in Shelton, a community in the Naugatuck Valley carried by Trump in all three of his presidential runs, though Duncan ran stronger than any Democrat in the previous 52 years, losing by six percentage points: 53% to 47%.

Turnout was just 17% of registered voters.

Republican Amy Romano has won CT HD-113 special election (per DDHQ)

🟥 Romano – 52.6% (1,638)
🟦 Duncan – 47.5% (1,479)

The district was Trump +10.8 in 2024. pic.twitter.com/DOdAGmMsyK

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) April 23, 2025

WTNH reports:

Romano, who is from Shelton, faced Democratic candidate Michael Duncan in the race to succeed former State Rep. Jason Perillo, whose election to the State Senate earlier this year created a vacancy. Perillo was also elected in a special election after former State Sen. Kevin Kelly who was appointed to the state judiciary by Gov. Ned Lamont.

Duncan called Romano just after 8:30 to congratulate her on her victory.

Romano’s victory will need to be formally certified by the Secretary of the State before she is sworn in as a member of the General Assembly. Her swearing-in will return the Republican caucus of the state House to 49 members. Democrats currently hold a strong majority in both chambers of the state legislature, with 102 members in the House.

“I am honored and grateful for the support from Shelton tonight,” Romano said about her victory. “In a little over a month, we met with thousands of residents who have proven that Shelton wants an affordable, safe and sustainable place to live. I look forward to being their voice and fighting for local values. Thank you to all who volunteered, donated and came out to vote.”