The Hartford Courant's Josh Kovner is with the Lamont campaign tonight in Bridgeport.
He filed this report:
There has been a fair amount of talk that Lamont, who is now routinely described as a Greenwich cable TV entrepreneur, is a far more moderate, almost corporate candidate this time around, than when he had the Iraq War and Joe Lieberman to run against in the 2006 primary. He was seen then as a scrappy underdog, and his run generated a tremendous buzz among progressives.
This time, enroute to outspending Malloy by 4 to 1, he's cultivated a slicker campaign organization with an army of volunteers. He was out front for weeks until Malloy began steadily closing the gap, making it a race that was too close to call going in to tonight.
His campaign roundly rejects the notion Lamont is fundamentally any different.
"Surely, it's harder to romanticize balancing the state budget than the Iraq War, but Ned is just as a passionate about going to work for the families of this state as he was during the 2006 campaign--maybe more so," press secretary Brian Coy said Tuesday evening.
"Ned is the same guy he was four years ago. He stands with Democrats on a host of issues across the board - but he believes he has the skill set - from building a business up from scratch--to get Connecticut on the offensive again,'' said Coy. "And the bloggers that fueled his drive in 2006 are still with him, as are a number of progressives"
The Lamont campaign was paying particular attention to how the candidate was fairing in New Haven, home of campaign headquarters and Mayor John DeStefano, a key supporter.
"It's important for us to do well there," Coy said. "We put a lot of resources and work into New Haven. We're feeling very comfortable about the level of support there.''