HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Chaplin was the only town in the 2nd Congressional District to hold a recount on Sunday, and did not change its original vote tally, leaving Democrat Joe Courtney with a 166-vote lead over incumbent Republican Rob Simmons.

Courtney has declared himself the winner in his race, plans to attend orientation sessions starting Monday in Washington, D.C., for new members of Congress.

The Congressional race in the 65-town district was the closest in Connecticut this year and among the tightest nationwide, where Democrats swept several incumbent Republicans out of office.

The re-count was triggered because Courtney’s unofficial victory margin of 167 votes was less than half of 1 percent and fewer than 2,000 votes.

Since then, over 20 towns have recounted and Simmons has picked up a single vote.

Thirty-two communities have notified the Secretary of the State’s Office that they will re-count their ballots on Monday. Nine others have scheduled re-counts on Tuesday.

The last time there was a re-count in the 2nd District was 1994, when then-U.S. Rep. Sam Gejdenson, D-Conn., narrowly defeated Republican Ed Munster by 21 votes. Simmons has held the seat since he defeated Gejdenson in 2000, followed by a victory over Courtney in 2002.

Stretched across the eastern half of the state, the district is the nation’s most heavily leaning Democratic district represented by a Republican with 88,000 Republicans, 123,000 Democrats and 195,000 unaffiliated voters.