Political journalism is triage at best. There are many stories to cover and little time or money to cover them all. Right now, the State is appropriately focused on our budget crisis.
But if you look closely, there’s another story emerging under the radar – Chris Murphy is cleaning house in the 2012 U.S. Senate race.
Yesterday, Murphy locked up the endorsements of Connecticut’s congressional delegation. Two weeks ago he was endorsed by most of Connecticut’s Constitutional Officers (Jepsen, Lembo, and Merill).
Meanwhile, his opponent is touting endorsements from any democrat who is willing to vote for her in a primary. I’m not disparaging anyone on that list. I know a number of them. Many of them are fine people and outstanding public servants.
Why does the endorsement of John from East Hartford matter more than the endorsement of Ryan from the East Granby Democratic Town Committee? The answer is money.
Unlike state races where campaign finance laws come into play – the race for a Senate seat in Connecticut is a free for all. Last year, candidates combined to spend an estimated 64 million dollars in the race.
That’s a lot of money. The democratic nominee will certainly face a well funded republican challenger.
The bottom line is that an invitation from Joe from Vernon brings all the donors to the yard.
To the best I can figure out about party politics is that people like to support candidates they think are going to win. Sure some people vote on platform or a personal connection but I think those people are relatively few in number. Everyone from big donors to party brass to delegates to town committee members and primary voters like to support the candidate they perceive as being stronger. That candidate is Chris Murphy.
Don’t be surprised if the stories that are on the back page of Connecticut’s political beat about the support Murphy is locking up result in a dud of a primary next year. Races can be won at the last minute or very early on. Right now, Murphy is so far ahead of the pack that it’s hard to see him being caught from behind.