State

State Senator, 36th District

Vote for: 1
Term: 2 years
Candidates: 2
Election: Nov 3, 2026

What this office does: A state senator votes on Connecticut laws and the state budget in the General Assembly.

Open seat: Sen. Ryan Fazio is running for Governor.

Candidates Compare by issue

Jill Oberlander

Democratic

Attorney; former Greenwich Selectperson

The gist

Opposes broad-based tax increases.
Supports local control over zoning decisions.
Supports more state aid for special education.
Supports auditing ratepayer-funded energy programs.
Supports insurance pooling for small businesses and nonprofits.

More about Jill

View sources (1)

Opposes broad-based tax increases.
Jill on the Issues
Campaign website · Jill Oberlander for State Senate · jilloberlander.com
“Oppose broad-based tax increases”
Supports local control over zoning decisions.
Jill on the Issues
Campaign website · Jill Oberlander for State Senate · jilloberlander.com
“Preserve local decision-making”
Supports more state aid for special education.
Jill on the Issues
Campaign website · Jill Oberlander for State Senate · jilloberlander.com
“Increase support for special education”
Supports auditing ratepayer-funded energy programs.
Jill on the Issues
Campaign website · Jill Oberlander for State Senate · jilloberlander.com
“Audit ratepayer-funded programs”
Supports insurance pooling for small businesses and nonprofits.
Jill on the Issues
Campaign website · Jill Oberlander for State Senate · jilloberlander.com
“Expand insurance-pooling options”

Joe Kelly

Republican/Independent Party

Business owner

The gist

Opposes statewide property taxes and capital gains surcharges.
Supports repealing the state tax on Social Security.
Opposes state zoning mandates on local towns.
Supports more support for charter schools.
Supports restoring consent searches for weapons and narcotics.
Proposes a wage freeze on state employee pay increases.

More about Joe

View sources (1)

Opposes statewide property taxes and capital gains surcharges.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“Oppose statewide property taxes, capital gains surcharges, and increased conveyance fees.”
Supports repealing the state tax on Social Security.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“Repeal the state tax on Social Security and eliminate the gift tax to keep Connecticut competitive.”
Opposes state zoning mandates on local towns.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“Protecting our towns from overreaching state zoning regulations”
Supports more support for charter schools.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“Increasing support for charter schools and reforming special education services”
Supports restoring consent searches for weapons and narcotics.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“consent searches for illegal weapons and narcotics and proper fingerprinting for violent juvenile offenders”
Proposes a wage freeze on state employee pay increases.
Issues
Campaign website · Joe Kelly for State Senate · joekellyforsenate.com
“Implementing a wage freeze on state employee pay increases”

Challengers are listed first and incumbents last; otherwise candidates appear in ballot order. The Gist does not rank, rate or endorse candidates. Only positions backed by a cited source are shown; 7 issues covered in this race.