Connecticut Convention Weekend 2010

It was CT Convention Weekend 2010 as the two major parties endorsed their candidates for the November elections. And for those of you unfamiliar with the process, the May conventions are relatively small affairs in which the partes endorse candidates. Then in August there will primary elections in which the parties nominate candidates. And that's followed by the general election in which the electorate determines who will take the oath of office in January 2011.

Anyway... I think the Dems made a wise choice by endorsing Dan Malloy for Governor, while the GOP endorsed Tom Foley .

My understanding is that both Malloy and Foley will face primaries in August. And I have no idea how either will fare. I've consistently heard Dem friends tell me that while they support the idea of public financing, they are also concerned about unilateral disarmament against a self-funding Republican... such as Tom Foley.

But if the Dem endorsement is an indication of where polls will be showing Malloy against Lamont over the next three months... I'm not sure that Republicans will feel compelled to support Foley in August. Frankly, I doubt Republicans will gravitate toward Lt. Gov. Fedele ... I've heard too many rank'n'file Rs mention that Hartford is the problem... and therefore, the LG is not part of the solution to fix that train wreck. But maybe Oz Greibel is enough of an outsider to win a Republican primary in which self-funding is not a concern?

I cast my vote for Larry DeNardis yesterday. So I really don't have much preference at this point. Though I'm pretty sure the GOP primary for Governor is going to be a three man race - Foley, Fedele and Oz. Only thing I know for sure about any of them at this point is that Griebel has a couple of cute, young girls working for him. Ha! I guess I should start checking out their websites?

The GOP Senate race also may include three candidates - Schiff, McMahon and Simmons. I don't expect my guy, Schiff, to win the primary. But I do think there's value in sending a message to the entire GOP... end the deficits and reduce the debt... among other things.

The GOP in Washington is just off its rocker. Hopefully Jim Demint will make some headway in November and McConnell will be forced to start dealing with reality.

Sam Caligiuri got endorsed by the CT-5 GOP. Sam got 67% of the vote and Justin Bernier got most of the rest of it. I understand that Justin will primary Sam. Though I'm also of the understanding the Justin didn't even congratulate Sam after the vote. Hearing that was disappointing to me. After every time I've lost an election (2001 Council, 2006 State Rep), I congratulated my opponent. But most of the times I've won an election, including my state Rep convention and primary, I've heard nothing. No biggie to me. But I think it does say something about the person who got the short of the stick. IMO there's no reason to get angry and bitter. You just cowboy up, congratulate the victor and move on. No need for nastiness... especially not in public.

And here are some images from the convention...

Joe Markley (left) wants to be the Republican to take Sam Caligiuri's seat representing west Cheshire:Dave Labriola is a state Rep from the Beacon Falls / Naugatuck area. I got to know and respect him when I ran for state Rep.:The Cheshire contingent at the convention, including Gil Linder and Jackie Cianci:A view of the convention floor:Another pic of some Cheshire delegates you might know:Some pix of Tom Foley's reception:Linda McMahon also had a really nice reception on Friday night. Though her husband, Vince, has been largely absent from the campaign trail, he was at the reception on Friday... along with their kids and... Triple H! Considering how ridiculous Blumie has looked over the past week (not so much that he's a liar... moreso that he has credibility issues), I wouldn't be surprised if Linda is CTs next Senator.

And a photo of Oz Greibel with one of his supporters, former Congresswoman Nancy Johnson:

It'll be an interesting summer with all of these races... including several with big budgets and lots of advertising.

Tim White