Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said that just one in five registered Republicans voted in the party's recent primary that nominated Tom Foley for governor.
Local registrars of voters reported that 82,847 of 398,437 active registered Republicans, or 21 percent, voted in last Tuesday's match-up between Foley and Senate Minority Leader John McKinney.
Norwalk reported the highest turnout, where Merrill said nearly 79 percent of registered Republicans voted. There was also a primary for state representative, where incumbent Democrat Bruce Morris defeated Warren Pena.
Beacon Falls had the lowest turnout, with only four percent, or 199 registered Republicans, casting ballots for governor.
State Republican Party Chairman Jerry Labriola, Jr. defended the low turnout on CT-N:
"Maybe Republican voters were comfortable with the work that was done at our state party convention and really didn’t see a need to rise up and overturn it," Labriola said.
Foley will face Governor Dannel Malloy and other possible third-party candidates.
This report includes information from The Associated Press.
