Joe Gresko
Joe Gresko (Democratic Party) is a member of theConnecticut House of Representatives, representingDistrict 121. He assumed office on February 3, 2016. His current term ends on January 6, 2027.
Gresko (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to theConnecticut House of Representatives to representDistrict 121. He won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.
Biography
Joe Gresko was born in Stratford, Connecticut, and, as of September 2019, represents Connecticut's 121st district. Gresko earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science from Central Connecticut State University. Gresco’s career experience includes working as a weather forecaster at Western Connecticut State University and then a radio news reporter at WICC/WEBE . He served in the City of Bridgeport administration managing media relations and public affairs functions.[1]
Committee assignments
2025-2026
Gresko was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Technology Committee
- Environment Committee
- Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee
- Legislative Management Committee
2023-2024
Gresko was assigned to the following committees:
2021-2022
Gresko was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Technology Committee,Member
- Environment Committee,Co-Chair
2019-2020
Gresko was assigned to the following committees:
- Energy and Technology Committee
- Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee
- Environment Committee,Vice Chair
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Connecticut committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| •Energy and Technology |
| •Environment, Vice chair |
| •Finance, Revenue and Bonding |
2016 legislative session
After being sworn in, Gresko served on the following committees:
| Connecticut committee assignments, 2016 |
|---|
| •Energy and Technology |
| •Environment |
| •Judiciary |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2024
General election
General election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121
IncumbentJoe Gresko defeatedRafael Irizarry in the general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Joe Gresko (D) | 66.5 | 6,572 |
 | Rafael Irizarry (R) | 33.5 | 3,317 | |
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 9,889 | ||
 = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentJoe Gresko advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled.Rafael Irizarry advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gresko in this election.
2022
See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121
IncumbentJoe Gresko defeatedGreg Burnes in the general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gresko (D) | 65.2 | 4,106 |
| Greg Burnes (R) | 34.8 | 2,195 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 6,301 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Kerrigan Cotter (R)
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentJoe Gresko advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled.Kerrigan Cotter advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
2020
See also: Connecticut House of Representatives elections, 2020
General election
General election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121
IncumbentJoe Gresko defeatedEdward Scinto in the general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gresko (D) | 69.3 | 7,303 |
| Edward Scinto (R) | 30.7 | 3,235 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 10,538 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
The Democratic primary election was canceled. IncumbentJoe Gresko advanced from the Democratic primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
Republican primary election
The Republican primary election was canceled.Edward Scinto advanced from the Republican primary for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121.
2018
General election
General election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121
IncumbentJoe Gresko defeatedRobert Mitchell in the general election for Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Joe Gresko (D) | 70.3 | 5,376 |
| Robert Mitchell (R) | 29.7 | 2,274 | ||
| Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 7,650 | ||
| = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
2016
General election
Elections for theConnecticut House of Representatives took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 7, 2016.
IncumbentJoe Gresko ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 general election.[2]
| Connecticut House of Representatives, District 121 General Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  Joe GreskoIncumbent (unopposed) | |
| Source:Connecticut Secretary of the State | ||
IncumbentJoe Gresko ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 Democratic primary.
| Connecticut House of Representatives, District 121 Democratic Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Joe GreskoIncumbent (unopposed) | |
Jason Santi ran unopposed in the Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 Republican primary.
| Connecticut House of Representatives, District 121 Republican Primary, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Republican | Jason Santi (unopposed) | |
Special election
Aspecial election for the position ofConnecticut House of Representatives District 121 was called for February 2. The filing deadline to run in this election was December 28.[3]
The seat was vacant following the death ofTerry Backer (D) on December 14, 2015, from brain cancer.[4]
Joe Gresko (D) defeatedSusan Barksdale (R) in the special election.[5][6]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joe Gresko did not completeBallotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Joe Gresko did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Joe Gresko did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Won general | $42,165 | $41,962 |
| 2022 | Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Won general | $35,113 | $37,327 |
| 2020 | Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Won general | $36,020 | N/A** |
| 2018 | Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Won general | $33,860 | N/A** |
| 2016 | Connecticut House of Representatives, District 121 | Won | $33,355 | N/A** |
| Grand total | $180,513 | $79,289 | ||
| Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). | ||||
| ** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle | ||||
| Note: Totals above reflect only available data. | ||||
Scorecards
Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Connecticut scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
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In 2024, theConnecticut State Legislature was in session from February 7 to May 8.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
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In 2023, theConnecticut State Legislature was in session from January 4 to June 7.
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2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
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In 2022, theConnecticut State Legislature was in session from February 9 to May 4.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
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In 2021, theConnecticut State Legislature was in session from January 6 to June 9.
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2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
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In 2020, theConnecticut State Legislature was in session from February 5 to May 6. The legislature held a special session from July 21 to July 27.
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2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
In 2019, theConnecticut General Assembly was in session from January 9 through June 5.
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2018
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2018, click [show]. |
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In 2018, theConnecticut General Assembly was in session from February 7 to May 9.
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2017
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2017, click [show]. |
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In 2017, theConnecticut General Assembly was in session from January 4 through June 7. The legislature held a veto session on July 24. The legislature held its first special session on July 31. The legislature held its second special session from September 14 to September 16. The legislature held another special session on October 3. State lawmakers held their fourth special session from October 25 to October 26. The legislature met again in special session from November 14 to November 15.
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2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, theConnecticut General Assembly was in session from February 3 through May 4. The Legislature held a special session from May 12-13 to pass the state budget.
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See also
2024 Elections
External links
Candidate Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Officeholder Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑"House Dems CT", "Joe Gresko," accessed September 25, 2019
- ↑Connecticut Secretary of the State, "Election Night Reporting, 2016 General Election," accessed December 14, 2016
- ↑The Register Citizen, "Special election planned in February for open Connecticut House seat," accessed December 22, 2015
- ↑Hartford Courant, "Legislators Mourn Death of Rep. Terry Backer - the Soundkeeper," December 15, 2015
- ↑stratfordstar.com, "Republicans choose Barksdale," December 27, 2015
- ↑The CT Mirror, "Democrat wins special election for Backer’s seat," accessed February 3, 2016
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - | Connecticut House of Representatives District 121 2016-Present | Succeeded by - |
- 2016 general election (winner)
- 2016 incumbent
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- Connecticut
- Connecticut House of Representatives candidate, 2016
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- Current member, Connecticut House of Representatives
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- Democratic Party
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- State house candidates
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- 2016 legislative special election winner
- 2016 primary (winner)
