Connecticut's 61st House of Representatives district

Connecticut's 61st State
House of Representatives
district
Connecticut's 61st State; House of Representatives; district
Representative
	Tami Zawistowski; R

Connecticut's 61st House of Representatives district elects one member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. Its current representative is a Republican Tami Zawistowski. She won a special election in the spring of 2014 to replace Democrat Elaine O'Brien who died while in office. The district consists of the entire towns of Suffield and East Granby, along with part of Windsor north of the Farmington River.

List of representatives

List of Representatives from Connecticut's 61st State House District^[1]^[2]
Representative	Party	Years	District home	Note
James Albert Gaffney	Democratic	1967–1969	Taftville	Seat created^[3]
Leo H. Flynn	Democratic	1969–1973	Taftville
Astrid Hanzalek	Republican	1973–1981	Suffield
Ruth Fahrbach	Republican	1981–2009	Windsor	Did not seek reelection
Matthew Conway Jr.	Democratic	2009 – 2011	Suffield	Did not seek reelection
Elaine O'Brien	Democratic	2011 – 2014	Suffield	Died in office
Tami Zawistowski	Republican	2014 – present	East Granby	Incumbent; won special election to replace O'Brien

State Election 2008: House District 61
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Lauren K. Life	5,629	47.2	−4.2
	Democratic	Matthew J. Conway, Jr.	5,556	46.6	+0.0
	Working Families	Matthew J. Conway, Jr.	749	6.3	+4.2
Majority			676	5.7	+2.9
Turnout			11,934
	Democratic gain from Republican		Swing	+4.2

State Election 2006: House District 61
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ruth Fahrbach	4,273	51.4	−40.0
	Democratic	Derek E. Donnelly	3,872	46.6	+46.6
	Working Families	Derek E. Donnelly	172	2.1	−6.5
Majority			229	2.8	−80.1
Turnout			8,317
	Republican hold		Swing	-43.3

State Election 2004: House District 61
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ruth Fahrbach	6,660	91.4	−2.4
	Working Families	James J. Carone, Sr.	624	8.6	+2.4
Majority			6,038	82.9	−4.7
Turnout			7,284
	Republican hold		Swing	-2.4

State Election 2002: House District 61
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Ruth Fahrbach	4,853	93.8	−6.0
	Working Families	James J. Carrone, Sr.	321	6.2	+6.2
Majority			4,532	87.6	−12.1
Turnout			5,174
	Republican hold		Swing	-6.1

↑ "House District 61 Historical Election Results". electionhistory.ct.gov. Connecticut Office of the Secretary of the State. Retrieved May 27, 2026.
↑ "Current and Historical Connecticut State Legislators". data.ct.gov. Connecticut Open Data. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
↑ Proto, Jennifer (January 28, 2021). "Legal Challenges to Connecticut Redistricting Plans" (PDF). cga.ct.gov. Connecticut General Assembly. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 12, 2026. Retrieved May 17, 2026.