Theodore beats Laughter in Ward 1 alder primary election

Elias Theodore ’27 beat Norah Laughter ’26 in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Ward 1 alder, winning 64 percent of the vote.

This year’s race to represent the ward encompassing eight of Yale’s residential colleges and Old Campus on the Board of Alders has been one of the most competitive in recent history. Tuesday’s results follow six days of early voting. Polls were open Tuesday from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Across in-person and mail-in voting, Theodore received 290 votes, while Laughter received 165. This year’s municipal Democratic primary in the downtown ward saw a significant increase in voter engagement compared to the last one — 455 voters, around 36 percent of the registered Democrats in Ward 1, voted. In 2023, 49 voters turned out for a contested mayoral primary. That year, current Ward 1 Alder Kiana Flores ’25.5 ran for her seat unopposed.

When poll moderator Luz Catarineau announced the results Tuesday evening, the crowd gathered in the New Haven Free Public Library’s basement polling site — divided into two clusters, one for each candidate — stayed silent, unsure whether or not to cheer.




https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2025/09/09/theodore-beats-laughter-in-ward-1-alder-primary-election/