US Rep Chris Murphy (D-CT5)
Joe Lieberman’s retirement opens the road for Democrats to gain one more vote in the US Senate. I’m rooting for Chris Murphy as our next Senator from Connecticut. He’s got what it takes to do the job in my humble opinion.
Naturally, I was delighted to see an independent poll by the Service Employees International Union and Daily Kos showing Murphy with a lead in the primary and the highest favorable ratings among any candidate in the race – Republican or Democrat.
For the general election, the poll shows Murphy leads Republicans Mark Boughton 52-29, Michael Fedele 51-29, Scott Frantz 51-27, and Linda McMahon by a 54-38 margin. (Our Campaigns shows Chris Meek, Christopher Shays and Rob Simmons among a growing list of Republican hopefuls.)
While its still early for polls on potential 2012 results, match-ups, etc., I find it interesting that all but one of the Republican hopefuls mentioned above lost in recent elections. During the 2010 elections, Michael Fedele didn’t even make it past his own party’s primary in the gubernatorial race. Linda McMahon, despite the obscene amount of personal money she spent on her US Senate campaign, was trounced by Dick Blumenthal. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton barely made it through the Republican primary for Lt. Governor and ultimately lost the general election in 2010.
Perhaps Connecticut GOP will look to a fresh face with a recent win. First-time State Senator Scott Frantz (represents portions of Greenwich, New Canaan and Stamford) won his seat in the 2008 election. For a new-comer to Connecticut’s legislature, Frantz isn’t doing too bad. He’s a Minority Whip of the Senate Republican Caucus, a Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee and serves on the Appropriations, Program Review & Investigations, and Transportation committees. By the time of the 2012 general election, if he makes it through a Republican primary, he will have served four years in Connecticut’s Senate. Stacked up against Murphy’s experience in Connecticut’s House, Senate and several terms in Congress – including a history of unseating Republican incumbents, I see little hope for Frantz being a viable contender for this race.
As time passes, no doubt the playing field will open with more potential candidates from all parties. When they do, hopefully Democrats and others will not forget that at age 25 (1998), Murphy unseated a 14-year incumbent in Connecticut’s House of Representatives. After serving two terms in the House, he won a seat in the State Senate (16th District) formerly held by a Republican for more than 10 years. After an impressive service in Connecticut’s legislature, in 2006, Murphy was elected to Congress winning over former US Rep. Nancy Johnson (R) by what some consider an historic margin of 22,000 votes (56 to 44 percent).
Besides winning over incumbents with history, Murphy is creating his own legacy with the legislation he gets passed, and committees he chairs and serves. That’s something you can’t ignore. I’m hopeful that Democrats will not enter into a primary with Murphy but get behind him instead.
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