Recounts....

It is now official, we will have a recount in the 2nd Congressional District race. The certified vote count from Tuesday puts U.S. Rep.-elect Joe Courtney, D-2nd District (I need to start practicing that) 167-votes up over three-term Republican incumbent Congressman Rob Simmons.

I've seen dozens of recounts over the years, and I can count on one hand the number of times a recount resulted in reversing the initial outcome of an election - and I don't even need all five fingers for that count.

One hundred sixty-seven votes is a huge deficit. There will have to be a major discrepancy discovered to overcome that. I fully expect the margin of victory will change - but only by slight shifts. There were some problems reported on Election Day, but none of the magnitude that would suggest anyone is going to find the major discrepancy to overturn the results.

I think Simmons knows that. I think his comment yesterday was telling. When asked what he thought about Courtney declaring victory even before the recount started, he said, "If I was up 167 votes, I'd do the same thing."

And I think Courtney would do the same as Simmons if the roles were reversed. There is a process in our political system that provides for a rechecking of votes in cases where the outcome was close. Simmons has also been one to respect the process and thus - even though I believe he knows the outcome is not likely to change - he wants to see the process play out. I think Courtney would do the same.

I would...