1988Flipped from DemocraticFinal resultsIncumbent defeated
1988 election for Connecticut Senate District 16
Connecticut State Senate · Connecticut
Stephen Somma (R) won with 51.2% of the vote, defeating Donald M. Rinaldi (D) by 3.4 points, a seat Democrats won last time.
Stephen SommaRepublican · winner
51.2%15,973
Donald M. RinaldiDemocrat · incumbent
47.7%14,900
Robert GiannamoreConstitution
0.6%202
Stella L. FosterIndependent
0.5%147
31,222 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 1988
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The candidates
Stephen Somma (R)Donald M. Rinaldi (D)
Also on the ballot: Robert Giannamore (Constitution), 0.6%; Stella L. Foster (Independent), 0.5%