Mark Pazniokas

The muted reaction to a former Republican national chairman coming out of the closet is a reminder that the culture wars can't compete with a stagnant economy.

"At this point in the election cycle, people have a lot more important things to worry about than Ken Mehlman's sexual orientation," said GOP state chairman Chris Healy.

As a top GOP strategist who managed George W. Bush's campaign, Mehlman once exploited the power of gay marriage as a wedge issue -- something that gay activists and politicians won't forget. Read more

Democrat Dan Malloy had the biggest fundraising day in Connecticut history Tuesday as he collected $6 million in public financing for his campaign for governor.

But it is Republican Tom Foley who is poised to ramp up spending with a resumption of television advertising this week, an effort to close Malloy's double-digit lead in the latest poll. Read more

Even on a relaxed summer day, Dan Malloy is a candidate who occupies the narrow spaces between confident and cocky, energetic and edgy.

It is a more than a week after he crushed Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary for governor, and Malloy is getting antsy. He is ready to go, to work.

"That's what I do," Malloy says with a shrug. He laughs and adds, "That's who I am."

The college kid who closely trailed the 55-year-old Malloy with a camcorder for the Lamont campaign is going back to Yale in great shape. Malloy lost 13½ pounds. Read more

SHELTON - A motorcycle loudly idled at a stop light Tuesday as Linda McMahon, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, stood by her waiting SUV and answered questions from two reporters about a dead wrestler.

McMahon, a co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, was trying to steer the impromptu press conference away from the death of 29-year-old Lance McNaught to more comfortable subjects. Read more

Richard Blumenthal distanced himself Monday from the Obama administration and the state's Democratic congressional delegation with a forceful denunciation of Washington in a speech to the Connecticut AFL-CIO.

The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate was cheered as he arrived, but his anti-Washington theme drew little applause from an audience that had warmly greeted the man Blumenthal hopes to succeed, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd.

"Washington isn't listening, and Washington isn't working for ordinary people," Blumenthal said. Read more

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley reached out today to the Connecticut AFL-CIO with a speech emphasizing a shared interest in ending the state's two decades of job losses.

"I understand the valuable role unions play in our economy," Foley told the labor federation's biennial political convention, which is certain to endorse Democrat Dan Malloy for governor Tuesday.

"We have so much common ground between us," Foley said. Read more

Howard Dean, the former Democratic national chairman, blamed Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman today for the failure of the U.S. Senate to open Medicare to younger Americans as part of the health-care reform act passed by Congress.

"Remember who sold you out on health care," Dean told the Connecticut AFL-CIO at its biennial political convention in Hartford. "We're not going to forget in 2012."

"No, we're not," someone yelled from the crowd. Read more

BRIDGEPORT -- Ned Lamont conceded defeat tonight in the Democratic primary for governor, congratulating Dan Malloy and calling for party unity to give Democratis their first gubernatorial victory in 24 years.

"We're going to do everything we can to unite behind the Democratic ticket going forward to win in November," Lamont said, standing on stage with his running mate, Mary Glassman, and their families. Glassman conceded to Malloy's running mate, Nancy Wyman. Read more

WATERBURY--Dan Malloy caromed Sunday through an Italian festival in Waterbury, flattering the cooks, teasing the customers, offering his hand. Then moving on. Always moving, moving, moving.

"You don't stop until it's over," Malloy said, striding toward his rented RV. "Not leaving any stone unturned. Even without money, we're not leaving any stone unturned. We can still buy gas for the car, you know." Read more