Ugly Primary Campaigns

Republican Tom Foley

Democrat Dan Malloy

Over the weekend, I got a call from the Quinnipiac University Poll about who I'll vote for in the Connecticut primaries. My initial reaction was to say how disgusted I was with the campaigns. Turnout was light. No doubt the overwhelmingly negative tone of the campaign had a lot to do with that. Particularly disgusting were the races on both sides for governor. Ned Lamont, Dan Malloy, Mike Fedele and Tom Foley all ran relentless attack ads for weeks. For the first time, it left me with the desire to hold my nose as I cast my ballot in Colchester. Is this what politicians need to do in order to stir up support? The big surprise was the dramatic shift on the Democrats' side as a Ned Lamont-Daniel Malloy race pollsters considered too close to call became a major 58-42 per cent upset for Stamford mayor Malloy. The bad blood was just as obvious on the GOP side, as Lt. Governor Mike Fedele poured on the effort in the stretch to impressively narrow the gap but still wind up short against former ambassador to Ireland Tom Foley. Republican businessman Oz Griebel stayed above the fray - and below the radar - by being off the air and a distant third. For U.S. Senator, I give Republican former second district congressman Rob Simmons high marks for a positive if delayed active campaign. Linda McMahon is poised to give Attorney General Dick Blumenthal a tough fight. We'll see if the AG is ready to beat back this well-financed challenger. It all reminded me of CBS newsman Bob Schieffer's comment that primaries should be abolished. The vocal and active minority tends to set extreme agendas in each party as moderate people not yet fired up stay home and the election season just gets another reason to drag on even longer. Let's hope against hope that the next 13 weeks don't go on like the previous ones did. Do you really want any of these folks who are taking cheap shots on the low road to lead or represent this state? Oh, and can we please avoid using the word "smackdown" to describe Election Night?