There is a lot of talk about Connecticut being the big turn-over state, and I was going to save it till later, but, it's a holiday, and we should be happy. So, let's go.
Before we get there, though, let's just take a quick look where we've been. Colorado, Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Iowa, New Mexico, West Virginia and Kansas.
And before we take the jump, I just wanted to remind you again that you can contribute to candidates on this project by hitting this ActBlue page
Connecticut has five Congressional Districts of which two are held by Democrats and three by Republicans.
CT-1 is the North Central portion of the state including Hartford. Our incumbent there is a fellow named John Larson who walked away with 73% of the vote last time around. Even the Connecticut Conservative is writing this one off, and the opponent, according to opensecrets, has raised nada-zip-a-big-fat-goose-egg.
CT-1: As safe as we're gonna get Blue
CT-2 is the Eastern third of the state including New London. In 2004, this district split its vote giving the Republican incumbent, Rob Simmons, and John Kerry 54%. This is considered the most Democratic district in the country held by a Republican. Ah, the things you learn when you're doing something like this. Anyway. Our guy is Joe Courtney, represented the District in the State House for four terms, and, while I wouldn't brag about it, was named Connecticut's "Democrat Most Admired by Republicans". The AFL-CIO rates this as the sixth closest race in the country. With the AFL-CIO willing to put dollars and feet on the ground in the close races, and this year being what it is, I'm putting CT-2 into our column.
CT-2: Soon to be Blue.
CT-3 is the Southern portion of the state including New Haven. Our incumbent, Rosa DeLauro, won this district with 72% of the vote, and, her challenger has raised every bit as much as Larson's has. Nothing to see here. Move along.
CT-3: Blue, Blue, Blue
CT-4 is the SouthWest corner of the state including Bridgeport. Like CT-2, this district split its ballot in 2004 giving both the Republican incumbent, Chris Shays and John Kerry 52% of the vote. Our gal is Diane Farrell, and she's doing a helluva a job. I don't know if Shays can run fast enough from W, but Diane's on his heels. The AFL-CIO says this district is the 13th most competitive in the country, and even CQ ranks it as a toss-up. I'm trusting our Union brothers and sisters to bring this one home.
CT-4: Blue with CT2!
CT-5 is the Western portion of the state including Waterbury. The Republican incumbent, Nancy Johnson carried this district with 60% while Kerry and W basically tied. Now, it needs to be mentioned that Johnson has held this seat since '83, but the district has been redrawn to include strongly Democratic areas. Our guy is Chris Murphy, and while he isn't at the funding parity as Courtney or Farrell, this is another exciting Connecticut race. I'm just gonna snag a paragraph off of OurCongress.org, and I normally don't do this, but this was perfect.
Ten years ago, a 22 year old young man named Chris Murphy managed the campaign of little known Charlotte Koskoff in her race against Nancy Johnson. Without the money to run one TV commercial, Murphy turned the race into a heartbreaking near miss, with only seven tenths of a percent seperating Johnson and Koskoff. Now, with seven years of experience as a State Representative and State Senator, the last three as Senate Chairman of the Public Health Committee, Murphy has decided to finish what he started in 1996 by running against Johnson for the 5th CD. His record in the Senate is impressive, having authored and passed Connecticut stem cell investment act and the law establishing the state's new Child Protection Office.
BTW, the AFL-CIO puts this race at number 36 nationwide. Can the Union deliver all three? You tell me!
CT-5: Tossup
Running tally puts us at... 17! WOOHOO!