Lincoln and Douglas got by with seven in 1858. Will Malloy and Lamont do 17 in 2010? Dan Malloy, the endorsed Democratic candidate for governor, proposed today that he and his primary challenger, Ned Lamont, hold debates in every city and town with a daily newspaper. Malloy said he and Lamont – for different reasons […]
Mark Pazniokas
Mark is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.
Biden blunders into Blumenthal story
Richard Blumenthal’s U.S. Senate campaign took friendly fire today. Vice President Joe Biden, who by his own admission often misfires with his humor and commentary, zinged his fellow Democrat over Blumenthal’s Vietnam controversy at an event for wounded soldiers. “I didn’t serve in Vietnam. I don’t want to make a Blumenthal mistake here,” Biden said according […]
Source says Simmons told staff he is ending campaign
A Republican source says Rob Simmons told his staff Monday he will end his campaign for U.S. Senate at a press conference today in New London. On Monday night, Simmons called a press conference for 9 a.m. in New London to make an “announcement on the future of the campaign for U.S. Senate,” immediately prompting […]
Simmons ends Senate campaign
NEW LONDON — Rob Simmons ended his campaign for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, comparing a run against Linda McMahon’s money to the futility of Pickett’s Charge during the Civil War. “As somebody interested in military history, it was a foolish waste of people and resources, with a tremendously demoralizing outcome,” said […]
Rell vetoes energy bill, citing content and process
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has vetoed sweeping energy legislation passed on the final day of the 2010 session after a late-night debate, attacking the path the bill followed to passage as vehemently as she did the measure’s content. Rell, whose administration was not consulted on the bill as it was drafted, called the process “disrespectful […]
Blumenthal damage control continues: a poll and an apology
Richard Blumenthal’s U.S. Senate campaign gave mixed messages Monday about the damage inflicted by a week-old controversy over characterizations of his Vietnam-era military record. The previously defiant Blumenthal abruptly apologized for telling audiences he served in Vietnam, while his campaign advisers said that days-old internal polling shows that he is weathering the storm. “There wasn’t […]
In Democratic primary race, money is a means and a message
Money talks in politics, and it spoke loudly over the weekend at Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, where Republicans endorsed two rich neophytes for governor and U.S. Senate. But the Republican losers didn’t complain as much about the prospect of being outspent as did a Democratic winner, Dan Malloy, who was endorsed for governor across […]
Bysiewicz teases convention about ‘what’s next’
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz took the first step towards political rehabilitation today with a lighthearted, upbeat speech to the Democratic State Convention. “How was your week? I guess I can take the Supreme Court justices off my Christmas card list,” Bysiewicz said. “Obviously, this isn’t the speech I planned on giving.” Bysiewicz, who […]
Nikki O’Neill brings a speech for Wyman and some great stories
Believe it or not, Nikki O’Neill got her first view this weekend of a Democrat being nominated for governor. The widow of Gov. William A. O’Neill, the longest-serving governor of modern times, said she and her husband always watched the proceedings from a hotel room, then swept into the hall after O’Neill had won the […]
After a tough week, Blumenthal wins by acclamation
An embattled Richard Blumenthal was endorsed for U.S. Senate by acclamation Friday night after his only opponent for the Democratic nomination withdrew more than halfway through a roll call vote. In his acceptance speech, Blumenthal cast himself as a fighter, both for Connecticut and for a candidacy roiled by the week’s stunning controversy over his […]
Simmons vows to primary
Rob Simmons said tonight he will continue his campaign for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination, waging a primary in August against the GOP’s endorsed candidate, Linda McMahon. “Do I look like a quitter?” Simmons said. Simmons on the way to the press room. (Mark Pazniokas) Simmons huddled with his staff in room off the convention […]
GOP diners treated to Rell, Rowland and Democrats’ misfortune
STAMFORD – It was a night for Republicans to gloat a bit about the Democrats’ Black Tuesday, tell a new joke about Dick Blumenthal, recognize John G. Rowland and say good-bye to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. Nearly 800 Republicans crowded into an under-sized ballroom Wednesday night for the annual Prescott Bush fundraising dinner, bringing in […]
Bysiewicz will not seek office in 2010
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz, whose candidacy for attorney general ended with a stunning court decision Tuesday, issued a statement today that she will not run for another office this year. Bysiewicz had been considering whether to seek nomination to secretary of the state or, possibly, comptroller, the post Nancy Wyman is vacating to […]
Blumenthal: He’s moving on to ‘real problems’ of ‘real people’
Richard Blumenthal insisted Thursday night he was moving on, leaving behind questions about ill-chosen words like, “I wore the uniform in Vietnam.” In case there was any doubt, Blumenthal didn’t break stride as he left a friendly Hartford Democratic town committee, trailed by a reporter. “I’m moving on to the real problems that real people […]
Just another day of politics in the Land of Steady Habits
It will be remembered as the day when the national political spotlight swung away from states with pivotal primaries to the circus that took over staid Connecticut politics. Where to begin? With Richard Blumenthal, accused of lying about his military record, holding a nationally televised press conference aimed at righting his can’t-miss candidacy for the […]