Update at 11:40 p.m. Nov. 6:
Not long before midnight, Republican Andrew Roraback conceded to Democrat Elizabeth Esty in the hard-fought Fifth Congressional District.
"I have no regrets," Roraback told his supporters in Torrington. "This has been the most amazing experience of my lifetime."
Roraback noted that President Obama was re-elected but that the House of Representatives would keep its Republican majority.
"For all of us, let's hope they begin to focus on solutions that will unite us," he said.
Esty gave a victory speech to supporters in Waterbury after being introduced by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who called her a "wonderful candidate."
After thanking her family, friends and supporters, Esty noted that several races in Connecticut had been flooded with funding.
"We proved in the Senate and we proved in the House," she said. "Connecticut cannot be bought."
Update at 10:45 p.m. Nov. 6:
Roraback leads 53 percent to 47 percent, with 37 percent of the votes reported.
Update at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 6:
Peter Vergaro, of Torrington, a volunteer school teacher at Torrington high, campaigned outside Edmond Town Hall polling place in Newtown Tuesday afternoon.
Reception from voters has been very positive, he said, stating he gets the sense that a lot of folks are hoping for change at the national level.
"Andrew kind of cuts across party lines," said Vergaro, who has known Roraback and worked on his campaigns for 18 years. Vergaro described the candidate as socially moderate but thinks he would be a voice of fiscal conservativism in Washington, and someone who could "help transform the party from within."
"I think people are energized this year," he added, nothing there has been a lot of outside money in the Fifth District race.
Update at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 6:
Elizabeth Esty stopped at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown this morning to greet voters. She said her goal was to hit 20 polling locations today to meet as many people as possible.
As she said that, a young woman walked by and told Esty that she had voted for her.
Another Newtown voter, Tom Lynch, said he had voted for Esty, too. "Basically her principles line up a lot more closely to mine than Andrew Roraback's," he said.
The original report follows:
Both candidates seeking your vote in the Fifth Congressional District have government experience, and both are attorneys.
Andrew Roraback, a Republican who resides in Goshen, has served as an elected official for 17 years—first as a state representative and, since 2001, a state Senator.
Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat from Cheshire, was elected to her town's town council and also to the state House of Representatives.
The two have maintained a relatively civil campaign in this closely-watched race that saw a primary for both parties. The fifth district seat is up for grabs as the current representative, Democrat Chris Murphy, is running against Linda McMahon for U.S. Senate.
Roraback and Esty did have a healthy exchange during a recent debate, in which differences emerged on each's fiscal philosphy.
