GOP eyes challenger to Himes

Republicans are close to landing Connecticut state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney to run against freshman Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), providing the GOP with a top-tier challenger in a region where the party’s fortunes have bottomed out.

McKinney is expected to make a final decision soon after the state legislative session ends June 3, but he has already been making moves in preparation for a campaign, according to several GOP sources.

He was in Washington last week to discuss a potential candidacy with the National Republican Congressional Committee and has talked to NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas and another prominent moderate, Rep. Michael Castle (R-Del.).

Former GOP Rep. Chris Shays, who represented the district for 21 years before losing to Himes last year, has been in contact with McKinney and said he is under the impression that the legislator will jump in the race. He said McKinney would have his full backing.

“If he runs — and I think he will — he will have a very good likelihood of winning, and if he is elected, he will be an outstanding public servant,” Shays said. “He is just an exceptional young man who really has a lot to offer. I’m excited about him running, and if he does run, he has my total support.”

McKinney and his legislative staff did not respond to requests for interviews.

A McKinney candidacy would be a significant boost to House GOP recruitment efforts in the Northeast — and in New England, in particular, where Shays’ 2008 loss left the party without a single seat.

McKinney would be the second top Republican recruit from the region, joining Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta, who announced earlier this month he is running against Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.).

The McKinney name is well-known in southwest Connecticut — his father, Stewart McKinney, represented the district for 16 years, from 1971 until his death in 1987. John McKinney has been a leading moderate voice and has served as GOP leader in the state Senate for the past two years.

In the Legislature, McKinney has burnished his fiscally conservative credentials by decrying tax increases and opposing increased state spending. He was a leading critic of Democratic state legislators’ efforts to subpoena 14 American International Group employees named in the media for receiving bonuses, calling the symbolic hearing a “show trial.”

McKinney also has taken a lead role on environmental protection issues and is a supporter of abortion rights — positions with considerable appeal in a Democratic-leaning district. Last month, McKinney shepherded a legislative compromise that would allow gay marriage in Connecticut while letting religious officials opt out of performing such ceremonies.

McKinney touted his moderate style of Republicanism in a March New York Times interview: “It’s a brand of fiscal responsibility, of trying to grow our economy, making sure Connecticut continues to work for its citizens,” he said. “It’s a brand of social moderation. It’s a brand of strong environmental protections.’’

“He comes across as fiscally conservative; he’s in the center on social issues. It would be impossible to paint John McKinney with the label of being overly conservative or right wing. It just wouldn’t play,” said John Raben, chairman of the Greenwich Republican Town Committee. “People know him and his record, and that argument wouldn’t be persuasive.”

Democrats acknowledge that McKinney would be a formidable opponent but note that his moderate Republicanism is out of sync with the national party.

Rep. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who served with McKinney in the state Senate, said that he will be totally out of place in the House Republican conference — and that he would end up as a conservative enabler.

“John and I worked very closely together in the state Legislature, but there just is not room in Washington right now for the kind of Republican that Connecticut is used to,” Murphy said. “Any Republican elected from Connecticut who claims to be a moderate will simply be empowering the right wing of his party.”

Democrats also question whether Mc­Kinney will be able to raise enough money to compete, since he hasn’t faced a tough primary or general election since his first election to his Greenwich seat in 1998. He is not known to be a strong fundraiser and has largely self-financed his legislative campaigns.

By contrast, Himes has been one of the most prolific freshman fundraisers, raising $448,000 in just his first three months in office — and he has strong finance industry connections from his days working as a Goldman Sachs executive.

Yet it’s unclear just how much of an asset that high-finance background will ultimately prove to be for Himes. As one of the few members of Congress with Wall Street experience, Himes has taken a leadership role on the issue of performance-based compensation on Wall Street and serves as co-chairman of the Democrats’ Financial Services Taskforce. But it’s also put him crosswise with some key local constituencies.

Republicans argue that his March vote to levy a 90 percent tax on bonuses given to wealthy employees of Wall Street companies receiving bailout money is a political loser in one of the country’s most affluent districts — and one that is home base for many Wall Street employees. The 4th District also contains the largest concentration of hedge funds in the nation.

“When Democrats wanted to have a witchhunt [against AIG], Himes didn’t speak up. Say what you want about AIG, but many of those people got their contracts fair and square,” said Connecticut Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy.

The freshman congressman’s budget vote increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans might also come back to haunt him in a seat that includes the tony Manhattan suburbs in southwest Connecticut. Connecticut-based Democratic strategist Roy Occhiogrosso argued that Himes’ status as a relative newcomer to politics will work to his advantage against a candidate whose career has been spent in the Legislature.

“It’s unusual where a challenger has more political experience than the incumbent,” said Occhiogrosso. “But Jim Himes has been in Congress for less than a year. That’s the extent of his political career. Meanwhile, McKinney is a career legislator and the son of a former congressman.”

The political trendline in the district also favors Himes. Though the seat had been held by Republicans for four decades before Himes won in 2008, Shays’ winning margins were gradually declining. In 2008, Barack Obama captured 60 percent of the vote districtwide.

“There are a lot of independent-minded voters [in the district] that don’t vote straight party. As long as Jim holds that seat, it is going to be competitive, and he’ll have to work for every reelection,” Murphy said.
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