Rasmussen poll has Simmons as strongest challenger to Blumenthal

Among the top three Republican candidates, former U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons matches up strongest against Democratic Attorney General Richard Blumenthal in the race for U.S. Senate, a new poll found. A Rasmussen Reports poll conducted April 7 and released today shows Blumenthal leading Simmons, 52 percent to 38 percent. A month ago, the same poll […]

A deal has been struck between House and Senate Democratic leaders and Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell to help close the $371 million deficit projected for this fiscal year, House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan and Rell said today. “We agreed that pretty much, I mean 99.9 percent, we had a basis for an agreement. It’s […]

Republican Mark Zydanowicz, a businessman and National Guard veteran of Iraq, announced his candidacy today for the 1st Congressional District seat held by Democrat John B. Larson. With his first run for elective office, Zydanowicz is taking on a six-term incumbent in an overwhelmingly Democratic district that covers Hartford and 26 other communities. “I know […]

The statewide energy assistance program will run out of money at the end of the month if legislators fail to restore the nearly $2 million in funding that was cut, the head of the program says. “If we don’t get something soon then we won’t have money. It’s sad,” said Patricia Wrice, executive director of […]

Republican gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley issued a statement today that he raised $338,810 in the first quarter and has $1.5 million on hand, but his report wasn’t yet available on the state web site. Oz Griebel, another Republican, said last week he had raised $300,000 and had $250,000 on hand. All candidates must file their […]

When this legislative session comes to an end, Connecticut’s Clean Water Fund could be among the few winners – on track right now to gain a net $15 million in state bond funding. But with a federal deadline to clean up the amount of nitrogen discharged into Long Island Sound only a few years away […]

With a close Republican ally and a liberal Democrat who campaigned for his defeat in 2006, independent Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman expects to introduce revised climate-change legislation next week. “My guess is we don’t take it up in the Senate until sometime in June, but I think we have a real shot at it,” Lieberman […]

It’s too late for the state to avoid having to deal with the largest budget deficit in Connecticut history when the next legislature and governor take office in January. But while that problem is inevitable, some state officials are trying to build some new fiscal guardrails into Connecticut’s budget system to at least reduce the […]

When lawmakers revised a bill on high school reform recently, they inserted a provision that jeopardizes the state’s bid to win millions of dollars in federal stimulus money, some state officials believe. The revised bill calls for expanded high school graduation requirements–but only if the state wins the federal grant. That contingency could prove costly […]

Democrat Juan Figueroa said Sunday he will end his exploratory campaign and become a declared candidate for governor by the end of the month. “I feel good about what we have been able to put together,” said Figueroa, who intends to bypass the Democratic convention and qualify for a primary by petitioning. Figueroa said he […]

Leaders of the state legislature’s Democratic majority reached a tentative deal late Friday afternoon to close the $371 million deficit projected for this fiscal year, Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said, adding the agreement reflects a new plan submitted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. House Democratic Caucus spokesman Douglas Whiting also […]

Leaders of the state legislature’s Democratic majority reached a tentative deal late this afternoon to close the $371 million deficit projected for this fiscal year, Senate President Pro Tem Donald E. Williams Jr., D-Brooklyn, said, adding the agreement also reflects a new plan submitted by Gov. M. Jodi Rell. House Democratic Caucus spokesman Douglas Whiting […]

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz spent 10 hours over three days answering questions about her qualifications to be attorney general in a videotaped deposition, admitting she never has tried a case or appeared in court as a lawyer. A video of the deposition was released Thursday. One of the key portions is an 8-minute […]

The first commercial of Ned Lamont’s gubernatorial campaign reminds voters of his antiwar challenge of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman in 2006 and casts him as business savvy and “fiercely independent.” With a 60-second spot that goes on the air Friday, Lamont joins the Republican front-runner, Tom Foley, in reaching for the attention of Connecticut’s television […]

Richard Blumenthal showed signs of finding his voice Thursday as a candidate for U.S. Senate by answering the question that flummoxed him a month ago: As a crusading attorney general for nearly 20 years, has he been bad for business, discouraging investment and fueling unemployment? Standing at a forum sponsored by some of the companies […]