A few years ago, I interviewed all the candidates for Governor and came away with the impression that Dan Malloy was a policy wonk that would make Connecticut work better. The gist back then in June of 2006;

In the past six years, Main Street in Middletown has changed from empty store-fronts to a more pedestrian inviting look of small businesses like Java Palooza. It’s the kind of small scale growth that has been a small bright spot for the Connecticut economy recently. In this setting it seemed natural that chatting with Malloy would turn to themes of the Connecticut economy.

“I think Connecticut has some surprising opportunities” said Malloy. “We have the capacity to compete in more areas than people think.”

To Malloy, Connecticut is a land of opportunity, but he admits that he worries more about what happens if Connecticut doesn’t change course.

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Low turn out excuses in Connecticut aren’t about vacations, the August 10th date or anything else but how Connecticut voters are essentially disenfranchised by party politics. Let’s take a look at Colorado:

According to the Denver Post’s report on  June 2010 numbers, there are 817,458 Democratic party voters registered in Colorado and 855,667 Republican voters.

• Total Republican votes in the primary Governor race: 387769, or 45% of registered voters.
• Total Republican votes in the Colorado primary Senate race: 407110 or 47% of registered voters.
• Total Democratic votes in Colorado primary Senate race:  338537 or 41% of registered voters

And how did Colorado get these numbers, which for most foreign countries would be considered abysmal? Why, they have mail in voting. We do too, it’s called absentee. And shame on every single campaign that failed to tap into the vast vacationing hoards.

$22 million to get less than 50% of the Republican Vote. That would be, um, as of today’s 95% poll results, 58,206 voters divided by $22 million equals = $377.96 per voters cost of acquisition.

In the business world, this would be judged as wasteful spending, bad strategy and an unsustainable burn rate. If you want to campaign on bsuiness expertise, you might want to show some business acumen. Just sayin’…

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I’ve got my answer somewhere still in my brain. But Margaret Carlson whipped out the perfect opinion piece, which I’ll post here:

Men in Tights Stimulate Family Values Party: Margaret Carlson

By Margaret Carlson – Aug 10, 2010

Bloomberg Opinion

Time was, simulating the sexual assault of a scantily clad wrestler on TV might get you hauled before the U.S. Senate, not elected to it.

Welcome to the times we live in, when the further you are from doing anything in the public interest, the greater the chance you will win a Republican primary.

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Here’s the Norwalk Republican vote for Governor:

TOTAL: 1989

And the Norwalk Democratic vote for Governor

TOTAL: 2822

Total Voters Registered in Norwalk:

Democrats 14,600  19% turnout

Republicans 8,481 23% turnout

So let me put this in context, 4 out 5 dentists recommend Trident, (okay, sugarless gum for patients who chew gum) but 3 out of 4 registered voters in each party didn’t vote in the primary.

Watch this space, and as soon as I get the results I’ll post them.

But for now, a few predictions. Or observations. Norwalk voter turn out was pathetic. Really low voter turn out could mean a number of things, the top reason cited was that people were on vacations. Um, absentee ballots people. Around 300 absentee ballots came in as of yesterday in Norwalk.

Columbus and Fox Run had low voter turn out, slightly under 400 for Columbus and slightly over 700 at Fox Run.

*****Everything is unofficial*****

UPDATE:

Norwalk Democratic absentee Results:

Malloy 188        Wyman    120

Lamont 67         Glassman   58

UPDATE: 9:14 pm

AP Calls it for Malloy.

Foley leads Fedele by 6% (45% of the precincts reporting)

UPDATE: 9:54 pm

AP Calls it for McMahon

UPDATE: Norwalk Delivers Big for Debicella 10:01 pm

District 4 [GOP Primary] map 39 of 131 precincts 30%
Dan Debicella 1,085
Rob Merkle 673
Rick Torres 189

UPDATE: 10:34

AP Calls it for Debicella

With Boughton leading Wilson-Foley for Lt. Governor did the three way race for GOP Governor hurt Fedele’s chances?

UPDATE: 10:45 pm

AP Calls it for Foley. But Boughton has 5k more votes.

Are you ready to rumble? Entering the ring is Linda McMahon. She’s got cash which most Republicans think is needed to knock off Dick Blumenthal. Who’s he? The avenging attorney general for the state of Connecticut who is waiting this round out on the sidelines since there’s no Democratic primary for the Senate seat. Stealth operative Rob Simmons is very much McMahon’s opponent. He’s also the guy that would do the best job in the actual Senate, having done a pretty good job as the Connecticut congresscritter from the second district. Lurking in the background, but equally able to put money into the race is Peter Schiff.

The polls say McMahon routs Simmons. Schiff barely polls, so it’s a tag team rout. But what happens if Republicans in Connecticut actually care about Connecticut’s representation in the Senate? What if they really want to see federal dollars that get sucked out of Connecticut, come back to the northeast corridor region instead of out in Montanna or Wyoming? What if Connecticut Republicans want to see someone who will work hard for Connecticut? Then the choice is clear, Rob Simmons.

Connecticut doesn’t need to become like Minnesota, with an entertainer for a Senator.

For weeks, in some cases months, the campaign to become the next fill-in-the-blank has been occupying the best and brightest political flunkie minds. Oh, maybe not, but there’s certainly been a fair amount of trees sacrificed to the alter of why the “other guy” is is bad, American pie is good, and bright photos of aging white men who want you to think they can rock the house, legislatively that is. Then there’s Linda McMahon, who no longer wants to rock the ring, is not an aging white man, and plans to introduce chair throwing as a debating tactic in the Senate. But that’s a post for little later.

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from a press release:

For Immediate Release

The CT4th.com Hotsheet is a new website covering the GOP candidates running in

the August 10 primary in the 4th Congressional District.

The ct4th.com Hotsheet is a collection site. It is one website for voters to find

everything they need to know about the candidates and the issues.

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