By Rinker Buck
It’s beginning to look like the most contested primary among the Democrats will be the Secretary of the State’s race.
On the first ballot Saturday at the Democratic State Convention in Hartford, three candidates won at least 15 percent of the delegate vote and thus qualified for the Aug. 10 primary. House Majority Leader Denise Merrill won on the initial round of balloting, with 44 percent of the delegate vote. State Senator Jonathan Harris from West Hartford won 31 percent of the vote and former New Haven Alderman Gerry Garcia won 24 percent.
But a candidate must win at least 50 percent of the delegate votes to qualify for the party’s endorsement. Several more ballots might be required until a clear winner emerges.
Regardless of the official party endorsement, however, the three candidates who qualified at the end of the first ballot guarantee a crowded primary until August.