Joseph Courtney, will take another shot at unseating Republican Congressman Rob Simmons.
Courtney, an attorney and former state representative from Vernon, unsuccessfully challenged Simmons in 2002.
According to the Day, Congressman Simmons' chief of staff, Todd Mitchell, said Simmons will not comment on his would-be opponent until the party has chosen a nominee, but Simmons and his staff have said in the past that they expect every race in the district to be close:
“We are not paying attention to those who are announcing their intent to run against Rob,” Mitchell said. “We are focusing our attention on representing the people of the 2nd District.”
Courtney, meanwhile, is looking for a finance director, and starting to think about money. Courtney expects to need more than the $1.03 million raised by Simmons' last opponent.
The Hartford Courant reports that Simmons has been identified by the Republican House as one of the GOP's 10 most vulnerable incumbents:
"It is the least Republican district held by a Republican incumbent," Mitchell said. "We're going to be targeted every year until Rob is defeated or he retires."
Mitchell said that Simmons' cross-over appeal was demonstrated by his winning by 8 percentage points in the past two elections, but Courtney said he believes the district is growing disenchanted with the Republican national leadership.
[. . .]
On paper, the district is Democratic, but the party has been unable to entice its better-known names to challenge Simmons since he beat Gejdenson, who had been Connecticut's senior congressman.
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