CT-04: Richter Out, Himes In

From Maura at My Left Nutmeg:

A few weeks after having dinner with local party chairs and less than a week after former Rangers goalie Mike Richter was introduced to the Democratic Congressional caucus in DC, Richter has made calls to key players in the the district today to say he has decided not to challenge Shays next year.

I’m disappointed that things didn’t pan out for Richter, but since he didn’t have ties to the district, I think it would have been hard to beat the carpetbagger rap. I’d like to see him return to an area where he has real roots, work the scene for a few years, and then run. I think he would make a huge splash.

But as for CT-04, Maura tells us about the great candidate we’ve got who actually is running:

Jim Himes has done an impressive job of beginning to lay the cornerstones of  his campaign against Shays.  In the past two weeks, Himes has published great op-ed pieces against Shays in the  Greenwich Citizen and two days ago in the The Advocate (Stamford and Norwalk) and Greenwich Time.

More biographical details in Maura’s post, plus some info on how Himes is already kickin’ the tires and lightin’ some fires. With Chris Shays running up a serious borrowed-time debt, I think this race could shape up to be the marquee challenge in the Northeast this cycle.

Race Tracker: CT-04

3 thoughts on “CT-04: Richter Out, Himes In”

  1. …it wasn’t meant to be this time.

    There goes 2 years of hockey-related posts that I had ready to unleash.  Sigh…

  2. Some excerpts from an article in today’s Roll Call:

    …Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Chris Van Hollen (Md.) predicted Monday that Chris Shays could be in even more danger in 2008 because more Democrats will turn out to vote in a presidential year.  […]

    With Richter out of the picture, the leading potential candidates appear to be state Rep. James Shapiro (D) and Jim Himes, chairman of the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee.

    Himes, a Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar, runs the New York City office of Enterprise, a nonprofit provider of affordable housing for low-income residents. A former vice president at Goldman Sachs, he is scheduled to be in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to meet with the DCCC.…

    Himes said that if he runs, he’ll appeal to voters that other Shays challengers haven’t been able to reach.

    “I grew up in Latin America and am fluent in Spanish,” he said, “and the fastest-growing demographic in the district is Latino. With my dedication to community service and things like affordable housing, I feel I’m in a good position to span very different demographics in the district.”

    There is some doubt as to whether Himes will self-fund. Maura has more analysis on the race to take on Christopher Shays over at My Left Nutmeg.

  3. Jim Himes, who is strongly considering a run against Christopher Shays in CT-04, has authored a guest post at Connecticut Local Politics outlining the issues that might inspire his run:

    We have been led to squander untold billions and the precious lives of our young in a war of choice that has inflamed the world against us and sold cheap our heritage as a city upon a hill.

    Can we set aside posturing and make the investments in our ports, in our intelligence networks and in our relationships abroad that will make national security something more than a political slogan? Like the framers of the Declaration of Independence, can we remember that any great venture should proceed “with a decent respect to the opinions of mankind”? Yes, we can.

    At home, can we move beyond tired arguments to equip all of our people with the education that will will enrich their lives in every way? Can we remember that whatever dollars we spend to educate our people are the best investment we can make? Yes, we can.

    Could we come together to do the hard work so that all of us have access to competent healthcare at every moment of need? Can we recall the patient courage of the civil rights workers of yesterday to claim health as a civil right tomorrow? Yes, we could.

    Are we ready to assume real responsibility for the stewardship of our planet? Can we remember that the shoulders on which we now stand once bent to defeat fascism, to integrate our schools and to put a man on the moon? Might that spirit inform how we aspire to shape our cities, suburbs and countryside? I think so.

    From a comment by Himes in response to questions following the post:

    First, I believe I am well suited to bridge the unusually wide demographic range in the district. Grew up in a two stoplight town in a family run by a single working mother. Have private sector bona fides thanks to 12 years on Wall Street. Have been deeply focused on the challenges of the inner city for many years now. I am particularly excited to use my knowledge of urban issues and my fluency in Spanish to bring more urban voters into the process. That alone would be a pretty good outcome.

    Second, as my Guest Post indicates, I believe that a well articulated idea whose time has come can move mountains. And I really believe that we are hungering for good ideas around health care, national security, energy, etc. I bring to the table an unusual ability to understand and articulate ideas. But you be the judge of that when we meet.

    Third, I think we need to tell a story not of Congressman Shays’ extremism, but of his ineffectiveness. In his campaign against Diane, he asked voters to consider how well they would do represented by a freshman congressman in the minority party. I’d really like to get people thinking about how they are really faring with a minority incumbent who has spent four years singlemindedly dedicated to cheerleading one of America’s most awful strategic catastrophes….

    Am I running? The serious regrets I’ve accumulated in my 40 years come from times when I ignored my intuition. And my intuition is telling me to do this. But, I’ve got some more people to talk to, and a few more things to think about.

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