Murphy and McMahon Sweep Branford, State

voters have picked democrat and republican Linda E. McMahon to face off in the November election when the two will vie for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by , a former Democrat-turned-Independent who is retiring. 

Branford Republican Town Committee chair Ray Ingraham was at the Registrar of voters as results came in. When it became clear that McMahon was clinching the republican vote, he said he would have to clean his pick-up of  campaign posters. "I'll have to find my Linda signs," he said as he penned vote totals and talked with Shays' camp. 

Despite predictions of a for the primary election, about 22 percent of party-affiliated registered Branford voters showed up at the polls today. The local democrats elected current fifth district congressman and party-endorsed candidate as their democrat over Susan Bysiewicz, former Secretary of the State. The republicans put their vote behind party-endorsed candidate, McMahon, a former CEO Of WWE, over , former congressman from the 4th Congressional District in Fairfield county.

There is no primary in the Third Congressional District this year. For the Democrats, the endorsed candidate is incumbent U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, of North Haven, and the Republican challenger this year is Wayne Winsley, a businessman and media personality from Naugatuck.

With 77 percent of the state precincts reporting at 10 p.m., McMahon was soundly defeating former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays with 76 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, Murphy cruised by Bysiewicz, the Middletown native and former Secretary of the State, by a comfortable 66 percent to 34 percent margin.

In the Fifth Congressional District, Elizabeth Esty emerged on the Democratic side with a convincing 43 percent to 34 percent  margin (as of 10 p.m.) over the embattled Chris Donovan, once considered the strong frontrunner before a campaign-finance scandal involving several members of his staff, and dark-horse Dan Roberti (23 percent).

Republicans in the Fifth District went down to the wire, with favorite Andrew Roraback pulling it out with 34 pecent of the vote, followed by Mark Greenberg (28 percent), Lisa Wilson-Foley (19 percent) and Justin Bernier (19 percent) as of 10 p.m.

In the Second Congressional District, East Lyme restaurateur Paul Formica was running away with the Republican primary over Madison’s Daria Novak by about a 2-to-1 ratio, as of 9 p.m. and was declared the winner. 

Branford Primary Vote Totals