Suzio Gets Holiday Gift as Bysiewicz Looks to 2018 Challenge.

Lucky Len Suzio as the year draws to a close. The Meriden Republican won the seat in November that had he held for most of a term early in the decade. Suzio defeated three term incumbent Dante Bartolomeo, a Meriden Democrat, who had defeated him in previous matches in the district that includes all of parts of Cheshire, Meriden, Middlefield and Middletown.

Suzio may get lucky in his 2018 challenger in the Democratic-leaning 13th Senate District. Former Democratic secretary of the state Susan Bysiewicz is said to have the race on her crowded buffet of choices for the next statewide election. Bysiewicz, you may recall, has run for governor, attorney general, and U.S. senator. She also eyed two state senate races, one that would have required her to move from Middletown to Bristol. Forces within her party squeezed her out of that one. Courts and primary voters dispatched her in some of the others.

In addition to the state senate race, Bysiewicz may also be eyeing a bid for state treasurer, if, as expected, incumbent Democrat Denise Nappier bows out of that office after five terms. The comptroller’s race could open if incumbent Kevin Lembo runs for governor. Bysiewicz would likely skip a run for her old job as secretary of state if Denise Merrill does not seek a third term. There’s always a third bid for governor.