Former Connecticut state Sen. Rob Russo is betting that Democratic party loyalty can be a bad thing even in a district that gave President Barack Obama 60 percent of the vote in 2008.
Russo, running against Rep. Jim Himes in Connecticut's affluent 4th Congressional District, predicts the freshman Democrat's voting record will be an obstacle to his first reelection campaign.
"Jim Himes is in deep trouble because he is not an independent congressman," Russo told POLITICO during a visit to Washington. "Whether it was Chris Shays or Stuart McKinney, you had someone who would break with the party. Shays, at most, would vote with Bush 85 percent of the time. Jim Himes votes with Nancy Pelosi 95 percent of the time."
Himes has voted with his party on the three signature bills of the 111th Congress: the stimulus, the cap-and-trade energy bill and the health care overhaul that passed this week. And Russo claims the congressman hasn't been effective at explaining that record to his constituents.
"Himes has very few town hall meetings and when he does, he stands with his arms crossed ... and gives this, I went to Harvard, I'm a Rhodes Scholar, I'm smarter than all of you," he said. "Well, that doesn't work with us. No one's the smartest person in Fairfield County — that's too bold of a claim."
Russo faces a challenging primary against five other Republicans, including state Sen. Dan Debicella and wealthy Easton Selectman Tom Herrmann. Candidates have to win at least 15 percent of the vote at a May convention in order to qualify for the August primary election.
Russo has been outraised by Debicella, and Herrmann has pledged to spend money out of his personal fortune on the race. Whoever wins the nomination will have to contend with Himes's formidable fundraising: he ended 2009 as one of the best financed Democratic freshmen, with $1.27 million in his campaign account.
A real estate lawyer who started out in politics as an intern for pollster Frank Luntz, Russo expects he'll benefit from having a more urban base in Bridgeport. He also told POLITICO he's hoping his relationship with former Republican Rep. Chris Shays might pay off with an endorsement: Russo worked as scheduler and deputy chief of staff to Shays, who represented the 4th District until Himes defeated him in 2008.
Shays has not weighed in on the race, to date.
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