With a $2 million bankroll and heavy advertising, Elizabeth Esty won the high-profile Democratic primary for the 5th Congressional District. Now, she has to win a quieter, if still crucial campaign for the support of organized labor. The first test will come Wednesday when the Connecticut AFL-CIO’s political committee meets to consider transferring its backing […]

Connecticut has made significant strides in reducing the number of abused and neglected children in foster care, but its achievement is costing it millions of dollars in federal aid. Over the last five years, the state’s Department of Children and Families has reduced the number of children in state custody by 20 percent, officials say, […]

Waterbury — The past few decades have been tough on this formerly bustling manufacturing city. After losing some 5,000 manufacturing jobs between 1989 and 1992, the region partially recovered, only to lose more than another thousand in the recession beginning in 2008. Today, the Waterbury region is in its third decade with an unemployment rate […]

How could Connecticut’s unemployment rate have worsened significantly in July when the state gained more than 5,000 jobs last month? Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called out the Department of Labor Thursday, questioning the jobless numbers it released in its latest report. Based on one survey that estimates payroll jobs in businesses, the department concluded that […]

Washington — The national Republican Party is calling Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District race its “best pickup opportunity in New England.” And a national political report has moved the race from “leaning Democrat” to pure “toss up.” And so the name-calling has begun, with each party testing for vulnerabilities in the opposing candidates. The national Republican […]

Connecticut is providing up to $115 million in incentives to a major hedge fund that is committing to the construction of a new $750 million headquarters in Stamford and a doubling of its present workforce of more than 1,000, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said Wednesday. Bridgewater Associates, whose employees are now spread among several buildings […]

They are wasting no time. A day after the primaries, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon’s campaign began automated calls Wednesday to 300,000 older voters, accusing Democrat Chris Murphy of voting to cut their Medicare benefits — a mischaracterization of the record. And Murphy challenged McMahon to a debate next week on their jobs plans. […]

Washington — Connecticut voters are in for a knock-down, drag-out contest for the 5th Congessional District seat — courtesy, in part, of the national Republican and Democratic party organizations. As far as both national parties are concerned, the most competitive candidates have won their respective primaries on Tuesday; and before the night was over they […]

Leo Canty is a strong advocate — for labor, for Democrats and, for much of the last year, for why Windsor deserves its own House district. One of the overlooked ironies of last night’s primaries is Canty’s potential role in denying Windsor its victory. At his urging, the map-makers drew a district that is dominated […]

New Haven — After handily defeating former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz in the Democratic primary Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy wasted no time launching what is sure to be an expensive, highly charged race against Republican opponent Linda McMahon for Connecticut’s open U.S. Senate seat. The three-term representative quickly portrayed himself as the champion who […]

Connecticut’s congressional primary season came to the end of its long, strange road Tuesday night with the nominations of Democrat Elizabeth Esty and Republican Andrew Roraback in the 5th Congressional District, the most competitive of the state’s five U.S. House seats. A composed House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan of Meriden, the Democratic front-runner until wounded by a fundraising scandal, […]

Stamford — The wine was still chilled and the cheese had barely begun to reach room temperature when Linda McMahon’s supporters began to celebrate her win in the Stamford Hilton ballroom — less than an hour after the polls closed. Christopher Shays concedes to McMahon The win was a stark contrast with McMahon’s 2010 primary […]