Groton ― State Rep. Christine Conley, D-Groton, was elected to her fifth term, fending off a challenge from Republican Representative Town Meeting member Susan Deane-Shinbrot. The district covers parts of New London and Groton.

“I am pleased to have been re elected to my 5th term and to continue to serve the residents of Groton and New London,” said Conley, a Groton resident and attorney.

Conley received 6,194 votes, and Deane-Shinbrot received 3,163 votes, according to unofficial results on Wednesday.

“I wish her all the best and hope she can make some change,” Deane-Shinbrot said Wednesday.

Conley was leading with more than 2,000 votes late Tuesday, but the race had not been called.

Deane-Shinbrot said late Tuesday, while awaiting all the results, that she was not optimistic but was pleased with the numbers.

“It just makes me more excited for the next time,” said Deane-Shinbrot, a Groton resident and retired paraprofessional.

Conley, who serves on Judiciary, Planning and Development, and Transportation committees and is chair of screening for the House majority leader, named housing, funding for schools and municipal projects in Groton and New London, and helping small businesses with health insurance costs as some of her top priorities for another term.

Deane-Shinbrot also chairs the RTM’s Public Works Committee and is secretary of the Groton Republican Town Committee.

Conley, who is proudest of a bill that passed in 2019 requiring coverage of preexisting health conditions, said she is running because work still needs to be done, while Deane-Shinbrot, who organized 200 Groton paraprofessionals into a union that she co-led for eight years, said she wanted to make a difference and bring fresh ideas to the legislature.

k.drelich@theday.com