2023–24 Bridgeport, Connecticut mayoral election

2023-24 Bridgeport, Connecticut mayoral election

←  2019 November 7, 2023 (initial) February 27, 2024 (redo) 2027 →
Turnout	19.98% (initial) 15.41% (redo)
Candidate Joseph Ganim John Gomes Party Democratic Independent Party Initial 5,729 41.28% 5,550 39.99% Redo 6,366 58.65% 4,131 38.06%   Candidate Lamond Daniels David Herz Party Independent Republican Initial 1,836 13.23% 765 5.51% Redo Withdrawn 357 3.29%
Ganim:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Gomes:     50–60%     60–70% Tie:     50%First Democratic Primary Results Ganim:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Gomes:     40–50%     50–60% Tie:     40-50%First General Election Results Ganim:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Gomes:     50–60%     60–70% Tie:     50%Second Democratic Primary Results Ganim:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Gomes:     40–50%     50–60%Second General Election Results
Mayor before election Joseph Ganim Democratic Elected mayor Joseph Ganim Democratic

Bridgeport, Connecticut, held an election for mayor in 2023 and 2024. The original general election was held on November 7, 2023, with incumbent Joseph Ganim winning re-election. However, a state judge struck down the results of the September 12 Democratic primary due to evidence of election fraud and ordered a new primary scheduled for January 23, 2024. Ganim won this primary and was re-elected as mayor on February 27, 2024.

Initial Election

Democratic primary

Primaries were held on September 12. ^[1] Democratic incumbent Joseph Ganim narrowly won re-nomination over his former aide, John Gomes. ^[1] Gomes had won the votes cast on election day, but his lead was surmounted by Ganim once absentee ballots were counted. ^[2]

Democratic primary election results ^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Ganim (incumbent)	4,260	52.13%
	Democratic	John Gomes	3,912	47.87%
Total votes			8,172	100.00%

Gomes declined to concede and alleged that Ganim's campaign had committed voter fraud. ^[1] Bridgeport police launched an investigation regarding claims of "possible misconduct" after a video surfaced online of two women putting white envelopes in an absentee ballot drop-off box. ^[4] Gomes then released a video on social media that allegedly contained security footage of Wanda Geter-Pataky, a Ganim ally, stuffing an absentee ballot drop-box. ^[5] Additionally Gomes filed a lawsuit challenging his loss. ^[6]

On November 1, 2023, a Connecticut Superior Court judge upheld Gomes' challenge and struck down the results of the Democratic primary, ^[7] finding that 1,253 absentee ballots were submitted at Bridgeport drop boxes, despite surveillance videos only showing 420 people using the boxes. ^[8] A new Democratic primary was ordered, but the general election was still held on November 7th. ^{[7] [9]}

First general election

Despite his loss in the Democratic primary, John Gomes won the nomination of the Independent Party of Connecticut and secured a place on the general election ballot against Ganim. ^[10] They were joined on the ballot by Republican David Herz, ^[11] and petitioning candidate Lamond Daniels, a Democrat who failed to make the primary ballot. ^[12] If Gomes had won, his attorney said they would withdraw the legal complaint, which would make the redo primary unnecessary. ^[7] However, this did not occur as Ganim narrowly won the election. ^[13]

First general election results ^[14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Ganim (incumbent)	5,729	41.3%
	Independent Party	John Gomes	5,550	40.0%
	Independent	Lamond Daniels	1,836	13.2%
	Republican	David Herz	765	5.5%
Total votes			13,880	100.0%

Second Democratic primary

The court-ordered second Democratic primary was held on January 23, 2024, with Ganim and Gomes facing off for the third consecutive time. ^[15] Ganim won this primary by a wider margin than the initial primary, and won a majority of both in-person and absentee ballots. ^[16] Ganim could still run under the New Movement Party and Gomes could still run under the Independent Party if either lost the second primary. ^[8]

Democratic primary election results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Ganim (incumbent)	4,971	56.07%
	Democratic	John Gomes	3,894	43.93%
Total votes			8,865	100.00%

Second general election

Because Gomes had qualified as an Independent candidate, a new general election was slated for February 27, 2024, unless all remaining candidates running against Ganim had withdrawn from the ballot by that date. ^{[17] [18]} Prior to the election, petitioning candidate Lamond Daniels withdrew, ^[19] endorsing Ganim. ^[20] Ganim easily prevailed over Gomes in the second general election, and was re-elected.

Second general election results ^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joseph Ganim (incumbent)	6,366	58.7%
	Independent Party	John Gomes	4,131	38.1%
	Republican	David Herz	357	3.3%
Total votes			10,854	100.0%

References

1. "Connecticut mayor who regained office after corruption conviction wins another primary". AP News. September 13, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
2. Kate, Seltzer; Ashad, Hajela (September 13, 2023). "Ganim wins Bridgeport mayoral primary, as absentee ballots once again decide election". Connecticut Public. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
3. "Connecticut Municipal Primary Election Results". The New York Times. September 12, 2023. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
4. Lockhart, Brian. "Bridgeport police probe 'possible misconduct' after video shows person putting items in ballot box". CT Post.
5. "Wanda Geter-Pataky among 5 arrested in connection to Bridgeport absentee ballot fraud case". fox61.com. February 21, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
6. Tepfer, Daniel (September 19, 2023). "Surveillance video of Bridgeport ballot drop box at center of Gomes lawsuit challenging primary loss". ctpost. Archived from the original on July 26, 2025. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
7. Altimari, Dave; Brown, Andrew (November 1, 2023). "Bridgeport Primary Election Overturned; New Vote Ordered". The Connecticut Mirror . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
8. Nierenberg, Amelia (November 4, 2023). "Even in a City Used to Voting Scandals, This One Is a Doozy". The New York Times . Retrieved November 5, 2023.
9. "Connecticut judge sets new primary date for mayor's race tainted by alleged ballot box stuffing". Associated Press . November 18, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
10. "Bridgeport, Connecticut Municipal Election" (PDF). Retrieved November 1, 2023.
11. Roy, Yash (October 30, 2023). "CT Election Day 2023: How to vote and who's running". CT Mirror. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
12. Lockhart, Brian (September 22, 2023). "Lamond Daniels to remain in Bridgeport mayor's race". CT Insider. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
13. "Bridgeport mayor claims win, but do-over looms in election upended by video of ballot box stuffing". FOX61. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
14. "Connecticut Election Results". The New York Times. November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
15. "Bridgeport mayor wins do-over Democratic primary in race marred by ballot irregularities". Associated Press . January 23, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
16. "Public Reporting". ctemspublic.tgstg.net. Retrieved October 22, 2025.
17. "Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim wins do-over election, Associated Press projects". CBS New York . CBS News. February 27, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
18. Smith, John Henry (January 26, 2024). "After Ganim's third win, what's next in Bridgeport's mayoral election saga?". Connecticut Public Radio. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
19. "Lamond Daniels Withdraws From Mayoral Race – Only In Bridgeport®". January 30, 2024. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
20. Martinez, Eddy (February 15, 2024). "Lamond Daniels endorses Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim for general election". Connecticut Public. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
21. "Bridgeport Mayoral Election Results". The New York Times. February 27, 2024. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 8, 2024.