Stonington ― Candidate endorsements by the Democratic and Republican town committees have not only set up a three-way race for first selectman but possibly two primary challenges for selectman.

The Democratic Town Committee on Monday endorsed Pawcatuck resident Laura Graham as its nominee for first selectman, while the Republican Town Committee endorsed Board of Finance Member Bryan Bentz as its nominee last Thursday.

The two candidates will vie for the position currently held by incumbent Danielle Chesebrough, an unaffiliated voter, who announced in June her intention to run for a third term and seek the endorsement of the Forward Party.

Former Planning and Zoning Committee Chairman Ben Tamsky received Democratic endorsement for selectman, defeating incumbent Selectwoman June Strunk with a vote of 25-12. Strunk declined to comment after Monday’s vote but said she would be starting the process to primary Tamsky for the nomination.

The Republicans voted 19-15 to endorse incumbent Selectwoman Deborah Downie for a third term over Pawcatuck resident Tracy Swain. Swain did not say on Monday whether she intends to primary Downie.

Potential candidates can force a Sept. 12 primary if they gain the signatures of 5% of the active registered voters in their party. Strunk would require signatures from 241 of the approximately 4,800 registered Democrats in town while Swain would require signatures from 138 of the approximately 2,760 registered Republicans.

Bentz is the owner of Bentz Engineering and spent 19 years as a member of the Board of Finance before taking a break in 2017 to attend to family and personal obligations. He returned to the finance board last fall and is currently a member.

“One thing that I learned a lot (on the Board of Finance) is how to listen to people with competing interests and reconcile them and come up with decent solutions,” he said Monday.

Bentz said he wants to continue to keep taxes reasonable, and he believes that the finance board has managed to do that, while finding the funding for many of the necessary projects in town.

He also expressed that he wants more public input on issues affecting residents, and responsible, carefully vetted development in town, noting that though the town’s grand list needs to grow, issues will grow as well, so all development needs to be done with careful planning.

“I want to make sure that our development in town, which we need, is consistent with the nature of the town so that we don’t overbuild and end up with more problems than we’re fixing,” he said.

Graham attended Stonington High School and is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design who raised her family in Rome before returning to her roots and purchasing a home in Pawcatuck in 2013. She is the owner of the international sales and distribution management company, Drink With Food.

Graham said Monday that she and Tamsky were grateful for the committee’s strong support, and they were looking forward to running a successful campaign.

“We’ve known each other for years now, and we really trust each other, and we trust each other to always put Stonington’s residents first,” she said.

She added that Tamsky’s thorough knowledge of local planning and zoning issues would be an asset to the town as they look for creative solutions for the affordable housing work she and Tamsky would like to do.

Democratic Town Committee Chair Sara Baker said on Tuesday the committee endorsed Farrah Garland, Bill Sternberg and incumbent Deb Norman for the Board of Finance. Incumbent Board of Education Chairman Farouk Rajab and Meg Blanchette were endorsed for the Board of Education.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Glenn Frishman said on Friday the committee endorsed David Brown and former Selectman John Prue for the Board of Finance, and former public school teacher Katie Gauthier for the Board of Education.