Hartford - Connecticut Democrats claimed victory on Tuesday, winning most of the nine special elections for open legislative seats, despite Republican criticism of the new Democratic governor's proposed tax increases in his budget.

Democrats said early results showed them winning seven of the nine legislative races up for grabs - three for state Senate and six for the House of Representatives. Many of the seats opened up after several Democratic legislators took jobs in Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's new administration.

"I think it's been a great day for Democrats," said Nancy DiNardo, the state Democratic chairwoman. She said the party was able to break the Republican tidal wave during the November general election.

House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero, R-Norwalk, however, said he was thrilled the GOP picked up one seat in the House and one in the Senate.

"By definition we were underdogs in every race," said Cafero, adding that Democrats had won the same seats back in November. According to results provided to the Secretary of the State's office, Republican Noreen Kokoruda defeated Democrat Joan Walker in the 101st assembly district, which includes part of Guilford and Madison.

Kokoruda's victory means the GOP now holds 52 out of 151 seats. Last session, the GOP had only 37 seats.

Meanwhile, in the Senate, it appears Democrats will now hold a 23 to 13 majority.

Both parties acknowledged that Republican Len Suzio defeated Democrat Thomas Bruenn in the 13th senatorial district, a seat previously held by former 16-year Democratic state Sen. Thomas Gaffey of Meriden.

Democrats have held that seat Suzio won for the past 36 years. Gaffey had stepped down in January after pleading guilty to six misdemeanor larceny counts regarding double-billing for travel expenses.

Both parties reported that Essex First Selectman Philip Miller, a Democrat, defeated former TV news anchorwoman Janet Peckinpaugh. The Republican had run an unsuccessful bid for Congress last year.

In the hotly contested 6th state senatorial district, which includes Berlin, New Britain and part of Farmington, Democrat Terry Gerrantana defeated New Britain Mayor Timothy Stewart, a Republican. Meanwhile, in the 27th, which includes part of Darien and part of Stamford, Democrat Carlo Leone, a state representative, defeated Republican Bob Kolenberg. A special election will now have to be held for Leone's assembly district seat.

Voter turnout was light overall. Deputy Secretary of the State James Spallone said he visited with local registrars of voters in Bridgeport, Meriden and New Britain and was told the special election was pretty quiet. Turnout ranged from 10 percent in Bridgeport to 44 percent in Essex.

"It would be nice if (turnout) were higher, but the reality is it's fairly quiet," Spallone said. He attributed the low turnout to the cold weather, the special election falling a day after a holiday and many schools out on vacation this week.

Spallone said the day was mostly problem-free. He said only five calls were made to a voter hot line, set up to address any possible problems at the polls, and those questions were easily answered by staff. The November election was marred by various problems, including a shortage of ballots in Bridgeport that wound up delaying the results of the close gubernatorial race. This time, the city's elections officials ordered enough ballots for every registered voter in the 126th assembly district race, which was won by Democrat Charlie L. Stallworth.

In e-mails to supporters on Tuesday, Chris Healy, the Republican party's chairman, and former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley, said Malloy's proposed $1.5 billion in tax increases is a good reason to support the Republican candidates.

"With a record deficit, government spending busting at the seams and looming tax increases, the largest our state has ever seen, Governor Malloy and the Democrats in Hartford just don't get it," Healy wrote. "Connecticut taxpayers have already sacrificed enough while the Democrats in the legislature keep spending!"

DiNardo said special elections are decided by local issues and who can get out the vote. The state Democrats have spent money on voter canvassing, phone banking, polling and other services to the various campaigns - up to $10,000 in each Senate race and up to $3,500 in each House race.

DiNardo said she believes voters understand that Malloy has taken over the state at a difficult financial time. The projected deficit for the new fiscal year, beginning July 1, is about $3.5 billion out of a nearly $20 billion budget.

"The Republicans have been in charge for over 20 years. The last several years, (former Gov.) Jodi Rell has not taken a leadership role and that's why we're in the difficult straits that we're in," she said.