Democrats won big in Tuesday’s municipal elections in Connecticut, holding on to mayoral offices in Stamford, New Haven and Danbury and knocking out incumbent Republicans in Ansonia and Stratford, according to unofficial vote tallies.

The results came amid other Democratic wins elsewhere in the country.

In New York City’s closely-watched mayor’s race, Zohran Mamdani beat former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. In California, Democrats passed a gerrymandering proposition that would allow them to carve out additional blue seats.

Here’s a look at where some Connecticut’s key municipal races stand Wednesday morning:

Democratic incumbents in Stamford, Danbury and New Haven each fended off Republican mayoral challengers Tuesday night. 

Voters also granted a second term to Danbury Mayor Roberto Alves, who scored a win over Republican Emile G Buzaid with 59.06% of the vote.

In New Haven, incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker handily defeated Republican Steven Orosco, a former MMA fighter, with 77.43% of the vote. The win continues Democrats’ control of the city that dates to the Eisenhower administration.

A handful of races remained either too close to call Wednesday morning or lacked results. 

In Easton, the secretary of the state’s unofficial results showed Republican Dan Lent leading Democrat Nicholas D’Addario by just six votes in the race for the first selectman’s office. 

In East Hartford, where Republican Salema Davis and Connor Martin are vying for the mayor’s office, no results have been reported, according to the secretary of the state.

Tuesday night saw a few upsets with incumbents knocked from their seats. 

In Ansonia, Republican Mayor David S. Cassetti lost to Democrat Frank Tyszka, who secured 57.96% of the vote.

In Stratford, incumbent Republican Laura R. Hoydick lost to Democrat David Chess.

Neighboring Milford also saw a Republican incumbent defeated by a Democrat, with voters backing Rich Smith over the incumbent, Tony Giannattasio.

As the federal government shutdown rolls into its second month, questions mount for people relying on a range of federally-funded benefits.

Connecticut lawmakers are negotiating the parameters of a bill to set aside as much as $500 million to help households relying on various assistance programs and subsidies.

“Right now, my number one priority on a timely basis is taking care of people who were hit and hit hard by this shutdown,” Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Connecticut) said during a press conference at Hands on Hartford.

There’s bipartisan support for a response to several concerns over federal funding, including:

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture is paying for half the monthly benefits in November, leaving questions about when those payments will come and what might happen if the shutdown continues into December.
• The shutdown continues as Democrats and Republicans disagree over the future of subsidies for people who buy health insurance through Affordable Care Act exchanges.
• And stats have not received money from the Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, because Congress has not approved a spending plan.

Democratic and Republican leaders have said the goal is to put money aside in case federal funding for specific benefits are cut or frozen.

The intent is to make sure benefits continue through early February, when lawmakers return to the capitol. There is debate about whether the money should come from the Rainy Day Fund or a surplus within the existing budget.

Either way, lawmakers said they want to help families relying on programs like SNAP.

“I think we should have started figuring it out two weeks ago because there were some people who were optimistic,” Rep. Vincent Candelora (R-Minority Leader) said. “I just don’t see the shutdown ending anytime soon.”

That could include making sure households receive their full benefit and setting aside money in case the shutdown drags on and the USDA fails to fund the program again in December.

Lamont said Monday that Connecticut could copy what states like Vermont, Virginia and Utah have done, putting money onto the EBT cards SNAP beneficiaries already have.

“It was a bouncing ball there for a while, we have a pretty good idea now,” he said. “We will be able to use the EBT card. We can potentially do cash on that if this thing goes a lot longer.”

The state did give $3 million to Foodshare last week, helping the organization purchase six million additional meals.

Those meals will be distributed over the next two weeks through Foodshare’s existing network, starting Monday.

Janet Bermudez, executive director of Hands on Hartford, said families coming to her pantry are looking everywhere they can for help after not receiving benefits on Saturday.

“Folks that are not receiving their SNAP benefits are becoming anxious, desperate,” she said, estimating the pantry saw a 20% increase in demand even before Saturday.

She said families, and not just those on SNAP, have been asking for more help as they also pay more for electricity, housing and other costs.

Bermudez said that’s one of the reasons pantries alone can’t make up for the assistance families are losing through SNAP.

“What we’re able to give out is about 40 pounds of groceries, and that, I know, does not feed a family for a month,” she said.