Former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden defeated Republican President Donald Trump in Connecticut on Tuesday, garnering all seven of the state’s electoral votes.

Several incumbent Democratic members of Congress claimed victory in an election marked by high voter turnout.

State Democrats had expected Biden to win the state, where Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in 2016 by a margin of 54.6% to 41%, hoping that would translate into wins further down the ballot.

Democratic U.S. Rep. John Larson has won a 12th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He defeated Republican Mary Fay, a member of the West Hartford Town Council. Larson and Democratic Reps. Rosa DeLauro in the 3rd Congressional District in south-central Connecticut and Jim Himes in the southwestern 4th Congressional District, declared victory relatively early into the night. The Associated Press has not yet called the other races.

“I think it's a safe bet to say that we have enough,” said Larson in declaring victory. He said he was “humbled” by the support from voters, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. He faced a challenge from West Hartford Town Councilor Mary Fay and Green Party candidate Tom McCormick.

DeLauro, elected to a 16th term, has faced an aggressive challenge from political newcomer and real estate executive Margaret Streicker, who raised nearly $1.4 million as of Oct. 14, $1 million of it of her own. She spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of that money on TV ads, many sharply critical of DeLauro, who raised nearly $1.7 million and ran TV ads for the first time in about two decades.

“I believe the people of the 3rd district know I will fight for them and I'm not afraid of a fight,” said DeLauro, who was also challenged by Green Party candidate Justin Paglino, and spoke with reporters at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven.

Himes declared victory about 45 minutes after the polls closed, thanking supporters at a post-election event and pledging to help “restitch our civic life,” referring to the acrimony in American politics. Himes faced a challenge from Republican Jonathan Riddle and Independent Brian Merlen.

This year’s election in Connecticut was marked by historic numbers of absentee ballots. Lawmakers temporarily changed the state's strict rules for voting by absentee ballot to allow concerns about COVID-19 an acceptable reason. At least 28% of the state's 2.3 million voters had already cast their ballots before the doors opened at polling places on Tuesday morning.

But many still turned out in person. Democratic Secretary of the State Denise Merrill predicted voter turnout might surpass the 2016 presidential election, when 77% cast their ballots.

“People are very interested in voting this year," said Democratic Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, who said there were a “remarkably little” number of problems at the polls, considering the large turnout.

Stephen Gauvin, 67, of Norwich, said he had to wait for about 20 minutes to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden for president.

“I have been so motivated for the last four years to do something about this situation,” he said. "I’ve been chomping at the bit. Twenty minutes isn’t really that bad, but it was the longest line I’ve ever seen at this polling location.”

The pandemic did not keep Mary Goncar from voting in person in Glastonbury. The 87-year-old retired bank manager said residents have been very good at wearing masks and social distancing in public places. She voted for Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

“He’s done a lot for the country, a lot more than the Republicans in the past,” she said, adding she was worried about protests by Democrats if Trump wins.

State Democrats were hoping that broad support for Biden around the state, coupled with opposition to Trump, would benefit candidates for the General Assembly and the U.S. House of Representatives.

“The Democrats were effective in hiding their record and wanting to have Connecticut voters only focus on what’s happening nationally,” said J.R. Romano, chairman of the state Republican Party. “I'm not someone who thought that Trump was going to win Connecticut. But, you know, it’s unfortunate that that so many ignored Joe Biden’s massive flaws.”

Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who traveled the state Tuesday and spoke to voters, said while the presidential race energized many people to come to the polls, their votes were “fundamentally local" and reflected their opinions about how the state has been doing over the past two years.

Democrats have had a firm grip on the General Assembly, holding a 22-14 majority in the Senate and 91-60 in the House of Representatives. Leaders of both parties speculated they might pick up seats.

Votes were still being counted late Tuesday in the 5th Congressional District in northwestern Connecticut, where Rep. Jahana Hayes is seeking a second term, and in the 2nd Congressional District in eastern Connecticut, where Rep. Joe Courtney was seeking an eight term in a part of the state that has become more Republican in recent years.

Hayes is facing retired federal prosecutor and Republican David X. Sullivan. Late Tuesday, she issued a statement that her campaign was monitoring the vote count and their internal numbers “look very encouraging.”

“At this time however, I am going to wait for all votes to be tallied before making any additional comments on the election,” she said. "Like many people across the country tonight, I hope that candidates and officials show respect for the integrity of our political process, which means counting every single vote. I believe there is no better way to achieve that goal than leading by example.

Courtney is facing a challenge from Republican Justin Anderson, a political newcomer and a lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut Army National Guard.

While Merrill said she expected most Connecticut towns would finish counting the votes by midnight, many were still expected to take more time, considering the large number of absentee ballots.

As of Tuesday, 658,922 absentee ballots had been filled out and returned to town and city clerks, a figure that will likely increase. That's in contrast to the 129,480 absentee ballots that were received statewide in the 2016 presidential election. Voters were still allowed to submit ballots up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

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Associated Press writers Pat Eaton-Robb in Columbia, Connecticut, and Dave Collins in Glastonbury, Connecticut, contributed.

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Find AP’s full election coverage at APNews.com/Election2020.