Update: When a Democrat has a Republican message in a Democratic primary, it’s hard to win, even outspending your opponent four to one.
Ned Lamont spent roughly $10 million, the most by far in a Democratic guber primary. While he inspired primary voters in a courageous anti-war message against Joe Lieberman four years ago, he never had a message that resonated with serial primary voters who decide Connecticut gubernatorial primaries. I’m a business guy, I create jobs, vote for me. It’s the same message as the Republican standard bearer Tom Foley who held off a surging Michael Fedele. Dan Malloy’s message appealed to the Democratic middle class. You get screwed, vote for me.
The argument by Lamont supporters–Ned’s money will win the primary and then a general election in November–fell flat. It’s just not about money. If Ned couldn’t win a Democratic primary outspending his opponent four to one, how could he win a general?
Mayor Bill Finch and Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa got their asses kicked. Ned made his concession speech at Mario’s restaurant. They banked on Ned’s money winning the primary and then the general election, with an expectation of a big city win. The city results show a tight finish. The fact Malloy ran even shows the party is not pulling in the same direction. What does this mean for Finch in his reelection next year? It’s time to make peace with pols who supported Malloy.
One of several areas Lamont ran strong in the city was the Wilbur Cross precinct where State Senator Ed Gomes was pumping for Ned. This precinct is one to watch for the 2011 primary. Gomes and the mayor are not buds.
As for the polls, they’re difficult to judge in Democratic primaries. Just about every poll had Lamont ahead. One private poll by the Merriman River Group, which OIB hired to poll Mayor Bill Finch’s standing with city voters one year ago, had Malloy pulling ahead of Lamont in the days before the primary.
Ned operatives said we got it, we’re way ahead, we got the money, we’ll win. Yeah, they got it all right.
Winners: Former Democratic Town Chair John Stafstrom, State Rep. Chris Caruso and every other city pol who supported Malloy.
So now we have a bunch of intriguing matchups for November, Malloy versus Foley for governor, Democrat Jim Himes versus Dan Debicella for Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District, Democrat Anthony Musto versus Trumbull Councilman David Pia, a surprise GOP primary winner over Elaine Hammers, for state senate. And Linda Grace wins the GOP cat fight for registrar of voters. She’s the next Republican registrar.
Final Bridgeport numbers, according to Democratic registrar, Lamont 2,971, Malloy 2928. A whopping 43-vote city win for Lamont.
A sampling of city precincts:
Winthrop: Malloy 243, Lamont 222
Black Rock: Malloy 259, Lamont 144
Longfellow: Malloy 109, Lamont 109
Central: Malloy 234, Lamont 136
Blackham: Malloy 336, Lamont 294
Hooker: Malloy, 135, Lamont 189
Park City: Malloy 114, Lamont 95
City Hall: Malloy 49, Lamont 42
Wilbur Cross: Malloy 131, Lamont 232
Bassick: Malloy 81, Lamont 108
Hallen: Malloy 53, Lamont 92
Marin: Malloy 110, Lamont 99
Roosevelt: Malloy 55, Lamont 99
Harding: Malloy 103, Lamont 66
Dunbar: Malloy 145, Lamont 182
Bridge Academy: Malloy 61, Lamont 137
Reid: Malloy 103, Lamont 71
Beardsley: Malloy 43, Lamont 75
Very interesting results places I thought Lamont would win he lost places like Wilbur Cross I thought Malloy would win but didn’t.
Governor
Dan Malloy … 342
Ned Lamont … 249
Lieutenant Governor
Nancy Wyman … 367
Mary Messina Glassman … 212
Secretary of the State
Denise Merrill … 363
Gerry Garcia … 192
Comptroller
Kevin Lembo … 402
Michael J. Jarjura … 148
Above results are for Monroe. My record is intact.
There are some things money can’t buy. Congratulations Dan Malloy and Nancy Wyman … my prediction was Malloy by 5% … I think he won by closer to 9% … wonderful!!!
Lennie,
You have to start doing some real reporting and not just live off of the sensationalism of Caruso. Reporters like you who go for the easy story hold Bridgeport back by looking for melodrama from the same people and not looking at new developments occurring now in Bridgeport and not looking for new leaders to talk about. Caruso is a good speaker, but as a reporter you are suppose to be looking for more than a good one-liner.
Did you even think to address the aspect of this story that Lamont endorsed Caruso in his 2007 primary, and Caruso returned the favor by endorsing Malloy only because Finch endorsed Lamont? What sort of person does that? What sort of man does that? Who can trust a man who does this sort of thing? Only three years later stabs Lamont in the back. That’s why he cannot be mayor, because business and community leaders will always question his integrity and be nervous that if they disagree with him, will he be screaming about them on city hall’s steps.
WordPress, sounds like the 2011 Democratic mayoral primary has started, and that’s okay by me. In 2007 Dan Malloy endorsed Finch for mayor. Dan Malloy raised money for Finch. He turned around and endorsed Lamont. It happens often in politics. If you’re for this guy, I’m for that guy, and part of Caruso’s reasoning for endorsing Malloy was Finch’s support of Lamont. In the end, Caruso made the right choice, especially if he wins the mayoralty. Finch faces a difficult primary in September 2011. I’m not saying he cannot win, but he has lots of work to do that also requires a few breaks along the way.
Malloy 2010
GOMES 2011
It’s halfway there.
Gov Malloy
Gone is the machine
sittin’ pretty are Ayala, Caruso, Gomes
Lamont WON in Ayala’s district.
Correction! How soon you forget my friend. Ayala’s State Rep. District doesn’t cover Bridge Academy. That is Ezequiel Santiago’s school. I believe Marin went in Malloy’s favor.
You are right. I was under the impression they were writing about Tito Ayala.
Thank god it’s over. We can now expect a respite from all the campaign mailings for a short period of time.
Lennie I don’t know if this can be classified as an ass kicking. Machine results listed here show Malloy with 2,364 and Lamont with 2,392. I don’t know who won the absentee ballot fight.
It certainly was not the numbers victory expected by the Lamont people.
If I were in the Malloy camp I would not be jumping for joy over these numbers. It shows there is a lot of healing that needs to be done. The Dems will need a big victory in Bridgeport if they expect to win the statehouse.
In my district (Hooker) we did our job and Lamont won up here. This is always a swing district and Malloy will need to do some work here or this district could go Republican in November, it’s happened before.
I still maintain these are sad times for Connecticut if these candidates (both parties) are the best we can offer up to the voting public.
TC, what are you smoking? Malloy, with no money and the machine against him is down 24 votes in BPT as of this moment. That may shift once a few contested votes go for Malloy. Statewide, Malloy won double digits. He had his tail handed to him … Dan and Nancy worked really hard, they deserve to win. He will be a fantastic governor.
Red you are right Lamont got his ass kicked big time. But Malloy needs the big cities to win the governorship. The majority or at least a good portion of the 169 towns in CT are Republican thus Jodi Rell. Without a large victory in the cities Malloy loses. BTW Marlboro Lights.
I love primaries. They are the greatest fix a political junkie can hope for.
Congrats to the winners, congrats to the supporters of the winners.
Now, however, it’s time to really put some solutions on the table.
Connecticut is down a congressional seat from years ago. That’s because the population is down–people are leaving the state–and I suspect it’s because there are no jobs. Ya think?
The highways and rail systems here stink, and have for years. They won’t get better on their own, guys (and gals)! What’s the plan?
The economies of urban areas are dreadful … Take a drive down Main Street in Bridgeport and see what’s there. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ve heard the stories about Thursday nights in downtown Bridgeport, the shopping, the malt shops, yadda-yadda-yadda. Guess what, Eddie Haskell grew up, retired and died. It’s a new century! (Want a real taste of reality? Drive through Waterbury, I dare you.)
If the voters allow more “whats-in-your-wallet politicians” to get elected, it’s there own damn fault when nothing happens–AGAIN!!!
And one final thought … in recent weeks a few interesting things have slipped through the verbiage on OIB … we have at least three posters from out of state! Now, far be it from me to inhibit free speech. I say everyone into the pool. But these people don’t live out of state because things are so great here!
Is that coffee brewing? Maybe it’s time we all took a good whiff!
And now, my final, final thought … all together, let’s stand up and sing to the candidates … “WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?”
Eddie Haskell’s dead? No, Big John, he’s morphed into any number of Bridgeport pols!
Hello Mrs. Cleaver!
Lennie I think you are a little over the top here with your enthusiasm for the Malloy statewide victory.
Everyone in this primary wanted their candidate to win so they could reap the goodies that will become available.
Malloy did win the state quite well however he did not win Bridgeport and I don’t think Caruso brought much to the table.e
Malloy needs to carry Bridgeport big in order to have a chance for governor and that win is not guaranteed.
TC, considering where Mario started, delivering all delegates to Lamont at the state convention, telling pols openly he’s putting his ass on the line to deliver a huge Bridgeport win for Lamont, supporting a candidate who spent $10 million and having access to all the resources he needed in Bridgeport, I don’t know how you can characterize Tuesday’s result as anything but a poor performance. We’re still waiting for the official certified Bridgeport number but Bridgeport basically broke even. That’s not a win for Finch-Testa et al.
Lennie,
You’re so clueless. It’s a huge win for Finch and Testa. Bridgeport outperformed the rest of the state by 16 points. They are the only people who delivered.
In New Haven, DeStefano endorsed Lamont and lost outright. Lennie you need to get more analytical if we are going to take you seriously and not just be a drama reporter. In politics outperforming the rest of electorate by 16 points is a huge victory.
Okay WP, if it’s such a big win for the mayor and Mario, what does the win get them? Yeah baby, the 2011 primary has already started!
Shows great strength going into the 2011 primary, not only do they have a large city employee voting block, but the endorsement of Mayor Finch meant something to the other Democrats in Bridgeport. Having just decent approval among non-city employees plus the city employee vote is insurmountable in a Bridgeport Primary. Why would anyone enter the mayoral race when Finch has demonstrated to already have a clear plurality?
For some reason wordpress, I can’t reply to your next post. There’s no reply at bottom of your post. I have to reply here. So here it is Ha ha ha ja ja ja heh heh heh HA HA … … …
I really didn’t have a horse in this race. Good for the candidates because I can’t win a race. However, Malloy was the endorsed candidate with a better field operation and strong support of proven vote-getter unions like SEIU, which supported Lamont in 2006 and bullet-voted Lamont into winning that primary.
Foley seems like a wet moppine but will he resonate to the independent voters with a message that Malloy will SEIOU the unions?
If we want to retain a seat we CAN lose. We need to work hard for Jim Himes in this next election. He’s a targeted seat by the National Republican Party. They held that seat for a long time and believe they can get it back. His team cannot rest on the numbers from the past election. If this primary did anything, it should have opened our eyes to the apathy of today’s “voters.” Not to say he Can’t win. All depends on “what’s in his wallet …”
Way down on the bottom of the Republican Primary ballot was a race for Registrar of Voters. Anybody know what happened there? News stories before August 10: Missing absentee ballots, misfiling, complaints of??? … the Bridgeport Story plays out on both sides of the aisle? But what was the result Citywide??? Anybody?
Especially with the bad economy squeezing the city budget (i.e. fewer goodies for good soldiers), is it possible the party “machine” is no longer the most reliable driver of votes … that the unions are now the indispensable GOTV force in city politics? (Which, of course, is better news for Caruso than for Finch … if one were to project a year into the future.) Just a thought.
The Nose knows about such things!
*** Big win for Malloy/Wyman, let’s hope if Malloy wins the Nov. election, it doesn’t come back to bite this city in the derby due to Bpt’s DTC personal political agenda! *** Stopped @ Testo’s shortly last night for a beer & overall feel of the primary about 8 pm. Most political groupies seemed sure Lamont would win. The usuals were there, however many seem to turn a blind eye when you’re not needed anymore (in the box) and barely speak when in the same room. That’s Bpt politics I guess but life goes on! One hour was enough for me, then on to Ayala’s place where I watched the final results. Not a good night for Lamont/Glassman, Garcia, etc. supporters! Time will tell. ***
I stand united with Dan Malloy in November Malloy/Wyman 2010!!! Malloy people worked their asses off in Bridgeport. Danny Roach really campaigned hard for Malloy in the Black Rock district and I saw it first hand. How were the polls so wrong did Lamont voters just stay home?
donj You kill me; thanks for the good laugh. What happened to all your predictions for Lamont? You may be getting a call from the Malloy people asking you to predict a Foley win translated that would mean a Malloy win.
donj, Can’t beat ’em, Join ’em!
As I talked to voters coming in to vote at Winthrop School yesterday, they were not positive … there was much disgust with the amount of mailings they received.
I took note of John Fabrizi greeting each person like the Mayoral candidate he wants to be next year, responding in all the positive ways he could without saying a plain and simple YES. Gene O’Neil, Bill Finch and Mario Testa, and even Michelle Lyons thought Winthrop worth their presence on behalf of Lamont.
I think the conviction of all these individuals collectively was that the might of money would overcome the smartness of good campaign strategy.
Adam Wood has the biggest problem of all … he blew it … he doesn’t win campaigns and people are beginning to figure out he never was the one who helped Finch win in 2007.
Adam Wood made big bucks in the 2007 Finch campaign and chances are strong again he made big bucks with the Lamont campaign in 2010. I’m mildly curious to see how the payout was structured (given some of the circulating rumors). I would guess that in the future, candidates who really want to get elected will not be turning so quickly to Adam.
I agree, Adam Wood is someone who hung around the office of the state party, got his shot and lost both congressional races–including losing to Shays during the Democratic landslide in 2006. Then he tried to say afterward that Shays was unbeatable that’s why he lost–good theory but it was disproven only two years later by Himes. He only won in Bridgeport in 2007 because Finch was the endorsed candidate and Caruso ran a horrible campaign.
Adam, you can hang around Democratic politicians; it makes you a player, but doesn’t mean you know how to play the game!
You are right Carolanne, I never got why Wood had any reputation. He lost both Farrell campaigns, he almost lost Finch’s primary even outspending 3 to 1. He wasn’t able to help John Stafstrom, he didn’t want to help Himes because he thought Shays would win, he lost with Hillary Clinton. Perhaps Finch’s golden boy will his blinding shine. Anyway as to WordPress, Caruso knew who the better candidates were and Finch et al. did not. Now that should tell something about political smarts. Caruso had them and Finch didn’t. Also, the cardinal rule of politics the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
It is so silent on the Bridgeport streets–you could hear a mouse today. Now everyone needs to come together to take over the Governor’s Chair. I hope Malloy will not hold the citizens of Bridgeport responsible for the foolishness of the town committee. Bridgeport needs so much help.
BEACON2–Linda Grace won the Republican ROV primary.
Thank you JYDII.
Republican turnout was actually higher than Democrats in Bridgeport can you believe that!!! Almost 1,000 Republicans went to the polls in Bridgeport. How many Republicans votes at Black Rock because it had to be a high number when I voted at 6 there were 542 votes cast but the total number of Democrat votes for the day there were only 403 … I’m thinking over 200 Republicans came out at Black Rock.
Last night was an embarrassment for the city of BPT and the machine, period.
I met John Gomes while voting at Winthrop and I for one am going to watch him closely after checking out his website and chatting a bit with him.
I suggest everyone on here should do the same.
The right man won last night and Bpt cannot afford to get 2011 wrong like 3 years ago.
Very, very transparent!!!
Born in BPT, I agree with your assessment of John Gomes 100%. I’ve been to his website and he is going to be a strong player next year.
Well, they got it right for Governor. Let’s hope Bpt follows suit and elects John Gomes the next mayor of Bridgeport. God knows, we all need a REAL change in our city, our state, and our country! With the right people in office, change is possible and within our reach. But people have to get out there and VOTE!!! I am appalled at the low turnout at the polls! If you can’t take a few minutes out of your day to do something that is important for you, your family, and all of us, THEN YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN ABOUT ANYTHING regarding the city or state.
If the town committee thinks last night was a “win” for the party they are sadly mistaken. I highly doubt Bob Walsh and Ed Gomes are going to be on the same side with Finch in 2011. They can spin it all they want it was horrible.
Bill Finch needs to do a lot of relationship mending with the likes of Stafstrom, Roach, Ford, Ayala.
Party regulars like Robles and Scinto are already talking about jumping ship. Taking this Lamont risk was a huge gamble because it has united the opposition.
Expect the DTC to dump Amy Vizzo-Paniccia. That was the talk of the town at city hall today.
trueblu2bptgirl
loscare
Born in BPT
Are you on the Gomes payroll? Go help your buddy Herbst out.
Herbst is no buddy of mine–I feel sorry for Trumbull as he is inadequate, inexperienced and has a schoolyard bully personality–but that’s Trumbull’s problem–you can be sure a Dem will back be in office next year.
That’s the trouble with people like you, good water! When an honest, intelligent person who owes no political favors chooses to run for political office, you perceive anyone who supports that person as on a “payroll.” I know I can’t be bought, can you?
Hector did you see my response from earlier? I just wanted to clarify that.
Why?
Carolanne you know people in glass homes shouldn’t throw stones. It’s not easy to run and win a campaign. The last time I checked you haven’t run any major campaign until this little venture with Mr. Gomes. I have a feeling you too will have an L in the loss column this next September. Then you and Adam can sit down and talk about those hard losses.
NO. I DON’T BELIEVE THEY ARE ON GOMES’ PAYROLL, BUT MY QUESTION IS, ARE YOU ON TESTO’S?
THE MACHINE HASN’T DONE ANYTHING FOR THIS CITY, EXCEPT DESTROY IT. WHEN ARE PEOPLE LIKE YOU GOING TO LEARN? WE NEED CHANGE.
Looks like LaMachine is scared of Mr. Gomes.
JohnMGomes.com
2011
TrueBlu2Trumbullgirl–I am not on anyone’s payroll except my employer. I put in an honest day’s works as an hvac tech. Testo’s does have great food.
As far as Trumbull is concerned, Timmy is going to be re-elected very easily. I hear the only Dem candidates are a lawyer and some janitor from the boe. At least he can clean up the mess they have.
Dear AB2010,
And the point you are trying to make … is because I have participated in major campaigns since 1968, I shouldn’t take on the invitation to head up an attempt to replace a very incapable elected official whose modus operandi is betrayal of trust?
Win or lose, the set of values I carry from my own campaign experiences are not the same as those of Adam Wood. Hard losses has nothing to do with this equation … it has to do with trust and credibility … Adam blew it … it’s his glass house, not mine.