After four years of Republican control in Bristol, Democrat Ellen Zoppo-Sassu defeated Mayor Jeff Caggiano in a close and heated election.

When the first vote tallies came in shortly after polls closed at 8 p.m., Caggiano was up over 600 votes, but that lead was cut short by early voting totals. As news spread that early voting was favorable to Democrats, excitement began to spread at the city’s Democratic headquarters on North Street.

Zoppo-Sassu, who previously served two terms as mayor before serving as town manager of Enfield, defeated Caggiano by 117 votes, according to unofficial totals, which equaled around a 1% margin, the close results of a contentious election that saw residents fighting back and forth over the candidates’ merits and concerns about taxes and school funding.

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