Getting covered
The U.S. Senate Democratic primary is not the only race in Connecticut receiving national media coverage. CNBC, the cable television news channel, was in Norwich Monday covering events involving U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, and his Democratic challenger, Joe Courtney. The Washington Post is also interested in the congressional race.
With all the attention being focused on the Senate race, the congressional rematch between Simmons and Courtney appears to also have some national interests.
The two Democratic candidates running for governor should be so lucky.
With all the attention being focused on the Senate race, the congressional rematch between Simmons and Courtney appears to also have some national interests.
The two Democratic candidates running for governor should be so lucky.
posted by Ray Hackett at 12:10 PM
2 Comments:
The 2nd Congressional District has received national attention ever since Simmons defeated Sam Gejdenson in 2000. The main reason both political parties "target" the race each year is based simply on numbers (they're very big on number crunching).
The district is considered Democratic because there are more registered Democrats than Republicans - and in both presidential campaigns (2000 and 2004) the Democratic candidate easily defeated President Bush. The thinking then is, this district will go Democrat - something the Democrats want and the Republicans want to avoid.
The problem is, the number crunchers don't know anything about eastern Connecticut or its people. Joe Courtney, Simmons opponent this year, said just the week in a meeting with the Norwich Bulletin Editorial Board that "there are no coattails in eastrn Connecticut." And on that point, he's 100 percent correct.
Voters in eastern Connecticut cleary vote for the person, not the party.
What is different, however, this year is the fallout effect of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate - and I do believe it will impact the congressional races - and the growing dissatisfaction of voters in general - and that only adds to the national spotlight searching for vulnerable incumbents.
The unaffiliated voters in the 2nd Congressional District are the key votes. They outnumber Democrats and Republicans. Neither candidate can win without winning them over.
Simmons' advantage is that he is known, and people generally like him. Courtney is better known this time around than his first attempt in 2002. But the burden is still on him to make the case that Simmons should be replaced - and connect with voters on a level where they are comfortable that he is an acceptable alternative to the status quo. (That was what Simmons did so effectively against Sam Gejdenson in 2000).
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