1978Flipped from RepublicanFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1978 election for Connecticut Senate District 5
Connecticut State Senate · Connecticut
Clifton A. Leonhardt (D) won with 53.2% of the vote, defeating Douglas T. Putnam (R) by 6.4 points, a seat Republicans won last time.
Clifton A. LeonhardtDemocrat · winner
53.2%20,868
Douglas T. PutnamRepublican · incumbent
46.8%18,370
39,238 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1978
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET