1994 Connecticut Secretary of the State election
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November 8, 1994
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Rapoport: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Scott: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1994 Connecticut Secretary of the State election took place on November 8, 1994, to elect the Secretary of the State of Connecticut. Incumbent Republican Pauline R. Kezer did not seek re-election to a second term, instead opting to run for governor.
Democratic nominee and state representative from the 18th district Miles S. Rapoport narrowly defeated Republican nominee Andrea Scott by 2,237 votes, a margin of just 0.22%. As of 2026, this was the last time the Secretary of the State of Connecticut changed partisan control.
Candidates
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Miles S. Rapoport, state representative from the 18th district (1984–1994)[2]
Eliminated in primary
- Julia H. Tashjian, former secretary of the state (1983–1991) and candidate for state representative from the 61st district in 1974[3]
Endorsements
State legislators
- Mary Mushinsky, state representative from the 85th district (1981–present)[4]
Organizations
- Connecticut Chapter of the Sierra Club[4]
- Connecticut Citizen Action Group[4]
- National Organization for Women[4]
- National Abortion Rights Action League[4]
Labor unions
- Connecticut AFL-CIO[4]
- Connecticut Education Association[4]
- New England Health Care Employees Union[4]
Results
The Democratic primary was held on September 13, 1994. State Representative Miles S. Rapoport defeated former Secretary of the State Julia H. Tashjian in a closer-than-expected race. Tashjian ran for re-election in 1990 but was defeated by Republican nominee Pauline R. Kezer. Tashjian was accused of benefiting from having her name next to state comptroller and gubernatorial candidate Bill Curry on the ballot, who exceeded expectations in the Democratic primary. Tashjian dismissed these claims, saying "Maybe Bill Curry benefitted a little bit from me. I went out there and met the voters."
Rapoport declared victory around 11:30 pm Tuesday night while Tashjian initially refused to concede the close race. [4]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Miles S. Rapoport | 77,253 | 52.53% | |
| Democratic | Julia H. Tashjian | 69,801 | 47.47% | |
| Total votes | 147,054 | 100.0% | ||