Challenger claims primary election 'stolen' after Democratic mayor declares victory

Joe Ganim, who had the Democratic Party's endorsement, claimed victory in Bridgeport after election results showed him up by around 200 votes in a race that came down to a few thousand mail-in ballots — but his challenger, Jim Gomes, claimed the process was rigged and has refused to concede, reported News from the States.

Ganim had trailed in the race before the absentee ballots came in — but he had assured his supporters he would win when the final results were tabulated. “The right vote is more important than the rushed vote,” he said. “Primaries are close. That’s just the way it is.”

In recent years, Republican lawmakers have often pushed claims of election rigging based entirely on the fact that they were up in the vote count before absentee ballots were fully counted, most famously former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.