While the 5th District congressional election might be close, few observers give the Republican Party much of a chance of retaking one or more houses in the Connecticut General Assembly. I share that sentiment, in part because turnout in non-presidential years tends to be light and low turnout generally favors incumbents. To wit, the last time the Connecticut Republicans made truly significant gains was in 2016, when Donald Trump was elected and the GOP gained three additional state Senate seats and achieved an 18-18 tie in the upper chamber.
Consequently, when I’m not distracted by the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial contests, neither of which look terribly competitive either, I’m focusing my attention on the races in the two legislative districts where I live.
Similar to two years ago, two-term Rep. Maria Horn of Salisbury is campaigning hard to keep the 64th District in the Democratic column. And it looks like she’ll have an easier time than in 2020, when she faced a rematch with one-term former Republican Rep. Brian Ohler, whom she had defeated two years earlier in a squeaker that necessitated a recount. Ohler was a popular presence on social media and had developed a loyal following. Horn won 52% of the vote the second time around.
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Terry Cowgill lives in Lakeville, blogs at PolitiConn, is a regular contributor at CTNewsJunkie, and is the retired managing editor of The Berkshire Edge in Great Barrington, Mass. Follow him on Twitter @terrycowgill or email him at tcowgill90@wesleyan.edu.
