U.S. Sen. Blumenthal: "Even if access to bankruptcy were allowed, student loans would remain a sound investment for lenders."

Washington – Connecticut’s historic voting patterns will give Sen. Richard Blumenthal a boost in his re-election bid next year, a University of Minnesota study said.

Blumenthal is being challenged by Republican August Wolf. Another Republican, economist and media host Larry Kudlow, has said he’d challenge Blumenthal if the Democratic senator supported the Iran nuclear deal. Blumenthal came out in support of the agreement this week.

But Smart Politics, a publication of the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, says Connecticut voters have aligned their vote for U.S. Senate with the party of their choice for president in 16 out of 19 contests, or 84 percent of the time – one of the top 10 highest rates in the nation. (Only Wyoming, Kansas, Utah, and North Carolina top Connecticut’s percentage for unified voting.)

Smart Politics says “that bodes well for Blumenthal.”

“Even better news for Blumenthal, when Democratic presidential nominees have carried Connecticut, the party’s U.S. Senate nominees are a perfect 8-0 with victories in 1940 (Francis Maloney), 1944 (Brien McMahon), 1964 (Thomas Dodd), 1968 (Abraham Ribicoff), 1992 (Chris Dodd), 2000 (Joe Lieberman), 2004 (Chris Dodd), and 2012 (Chris Murphy,),” Smart Politics said.

Democratic presidential candidates have prevailed in Connecticut in the last six election cycles.

The study also said that The three instances in which voters split their presidential and U.S. Senate ballots came at the expense of GOP U.S. Senate candidates:

  • In 1932: Democratic Congressman Augustine Lonergan nipped two-term incumbent Hiram Bingham by 0.7 percentage points while Herbert Hoover beat Franklin Roosevelt by 1.1 points in the state.
  • In 1980: Democratic Congressman Chris Dodd defeated former New York U.S. Sen. James Buckley in an open-seat race as Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in the state by 9.6 points
  • In 1988: Democrat state Attorney General Joe Lieberman ousted three-term U.S. Sen. Lowell Weicker while George H.W. Bush defeated Michael Dukakis by 5.1 points.

Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.

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