Ex-Rep. Chris Shays is back on the airwaves in Connecticut’s 4th congressional district, even if he’s not on the ballot. Shays has cut a TV ad for state Sen. Dan Debicella, a Republican from Shelton who is trying to oust freshman Democratic Rep. Jim Himes.
Himes narrowly wrested the seat from Shays in 2008, and he’s tried to adopt Shays’ independent label in his showdown with Debicella. The new Shays ad takes direct aim at that strategy.
“Voting with Nancy Pelosi 94 percent of the time does not meet my test for independence, and I can’t imagine it meets yours,” Shays says, as side-by-side photos of Himes and Pelosi appear on the screen before returning to Shays sitting in a comfy living-room setting, where he makes a pitch for Debicella.