Cook Political Report: U.S. Rep. Jim Himes And Republican Dan Debicella In Tightening Race

Hartford Courant ^ | September 10, 2010 | Christopher Keating

[grayhog]

The Cook Political Report has weighed in on the increasingly interesting battle between U.S. Rep. Jim Himes and Republican Dan Debicella in the Fourth Congressional District.

Himes, a Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar, captured the seat in 2008 in an upset against U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, who had held the district for the previous 21 years.

The Cook Report has changed the race from "Likely D to Lean D'' - meaning that Himes still has an advantage. But the race has been getting much more national attention, including being placed on the CNN Top 100 list of the most vulnerable U.S. House races. It was also cited recently by the National Journal as one of five "bellwether'' races to watch.

The outcome of the race could show which way the national winds are blowing. Himes won the battle in 2008 when a large number of Bridgeport Democrats came out to support candidate Barack Obama. Shays had won the previous two races in tough battles against Democrat Diane Farrell - after cruising to many previous victories that were often by large margins in the earlier years.

Historically, liberal Republicans have held the seat in lower Fairfield County, which includes the highly affluent towns of Greenwich, New Canaan, and Darien. Before Shays, U.S. Rep. Stewart McKinney led the district for 17 years. Before McKinney, the seat was held by Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. of Greenwich.

The highly respected Cook report says, "By hitting GOP state Sen. Dan Debicella as an extremist early on the airwaves, Himes is making a play for many of the independents and soft Democrats who voted for liberal GOP Rep. Chris Shays for more than a decade before Himes beat him in 2008. The problem for Himes is that Democratic turnout in this Fairfield County district's core cities, like Bridgeport, goes way down in midterm election cycles. Connecticut doesn't look like an awful state for Democrats at the top of the ticket, but Debicella's $504,000 in the bank at the end of July means he'll be able to make an ample case against Himes on cable TV and in the mail. Democrats say Himes is outside the danger zone, while some GOP polling shows this race a dead heat. Give Himes a slight edge, but Shays' voters will ultimately decide this race.''

[grayhog]

Anyone know Dan Debicella? Was thinking of donating some to help him along but have heard very little about him. Would be nice to knock off the Pelosi-bot Himes.

[nhwingut]

If lib Cook has it as a Lean D, it means it’s a tossup or Lean R.

[GOPsterinMA]

Foul Tip - is this in your neck of the woods?

[Alter Kaker]

Debicella is a RINO’s RINO.

[tomd2]

RE: Rino’s Rino?
I dont think so. I am in CT-4. While Shays turned Rino after 20yrs in DC, he was a strong Reagan Republican when he was first elected in the 80’s. Fairfield County was been trending more Dem as more New Yorkers escape high taxes. Himes beat Shays by only a slim margin swept in with Obama’s surge and republican discouragement.

Himes has been running TV ads stating that he is an Independent. No mention of being a Democrat or that he voted with Nancy Pelosi 94% of the time. Himes is a just Pelosi puppet.

so the question is, do you want 2 more years of Pelosi or would you rather put the House back in Republican control.

[Alter Kaker]

I’m no Himes fan, but Debicella makes Shays look like a conservative. He was one of the biggest spenders in Hartford, and he’s socially liberal to boot. What makes you think he’d be any different in Washington? No way that clown gets one penny from me.

[Agamemnon]

I am also in CT4. Shays and I established a friendly relationship with each other over his 20+ years in the House.

We disagreed on abortion, and the looming SS debacle, but he met with me one-on-one many times, and on a Saturday morning in his Bridgeport office.

I am evangelical Christian and he, of "Christian" Science faith, but even though my clients are in the pharma industry he didn't oppose me philosophically in discussions we had concerning medical science or government policy related to pharmaceutical science issues.

Shays also stood strong in August, 2008 with "Drill here, Drill now," and defended Bush's lifting of the ban on off-shore drilling. Chris was done in by an embezzler in his campaign. I happen to think the guy was a plant from the other camp too.

Dan is not my favorite candidate either, and like Shays we split on the abortion question, but I think he is capable of toppling Himes and I look forward to making a special trip to DC if Dan wins just to rub Himes' face in the loss -- personally.

Himes' crew have been rank elitist armatures from the start and I would so enjoy a face-to-face taunt fest. I showed up at his office in DC in conjunction with the 11/5 rally, and his little twirps manning the phones were the sorriest looking turds to ever grace a congressman's office.

Torres was a good man, but didn't quite have the necessary cachet to run this time around. I met with Tom Herrmann when he came to Ridgefield last spring. Liked alot of what I heard, but he faded early.

I support Dan in this race and I believe every FReeper in CT4 should pull that vote lever with a measure of enthusiasm to grab this seat back from that Demo-weenie, Himes.

The seat is winnable.

FReegards!

[tomd2]

The Northeastern Republican dilemma; to choose a fiscal and social conservative who can not be elected or accept a fiscal conservative who is socially liberal. There must be a reason there are no more New England Republicans in the House anymore.

Shays drove me nuts, especially with his grandstanding Townhall to hear what his constituents wanted regarding Clinton's impeachment (the majority at the meeting were for it), then Shays votes against impeachment after his wife got a job in the administration.

As I said Himes is a Pelosi puppet and if you would prefer her to a Republican controlled house, then I am sorry Debicella is not conservative enough for you.

[tomd2]

Here is the FreeRepublic page for Key House Races on Debicella http://www.keyhouseraces.com/content/spotlight-ct-4th-congressional-district-0

and the FreeRepublic page for the CT-4 race http://www.keyhouseraces.com/race-at-a-glance2?tid=11002 .

Hope this helps.

[grayhog]

Thanks for the links. Debicella looks good enough to do the job. I can’t stand the thought of just sitting on the sidelines on this one when I think more help and money might push him over the top to help end the Pelosi regime.

[ccdemuth]

Across the country and in Fairfield County, most Americans opposed the healthcare bill. But Jim Himes didn’t hear us and voted yes.

The stimulus? Most of us didn’t want it. Himes didn’t listen. He voted yes.

Cap and trade? In Connecticut, most voters said no. In Washington, Jim Himes voted yes.

End the secret ballot in union elections? Again, his constituents said no. Jim Himes voted yes.

If Jim Himes does not listen to you, then you should know that you are not alone. By a wide margin, voters across the country and in Fairfield County oppose the Nancy Pelosi and Jim Himes’ position on the issues. If you want to send Jim Himes a message that he can hear, you can support his opponent, Dan Debicella, here: https://debicella.blue-swarm.com/donate.

Jim Himes can’t hear us. On November 2nd, let’s turn up the volume.

[bluedressman]

I have personally met him and will vote for him this fall. He is a very hard worker and far from the rino others are saying here. He was just one of 8 GOP senators vs 32 Dems. Its amazing how his opponents attribute so much spending power in hartfort to him. Just politics. Dan will be squarely in the camps of Ryan, Cantor, and Boehner. I think he wins CT4 fairly easily due to the angst against obamanomics and the lack of Dems voting in the midterms.