The Hartford Courant has endorsed U.S. Rep. Jim Himes over Republican Dan Debicella in the Fourth Congressional District in Fairfield County.
Himes, a freshman Democrat, is facing a stiff challenge from Debicella, a state senator from Shelton. Himes defeated U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays in 2008 in the Democratic wave that spread across the country. In Bridgeport, Himes was particularly strong as he pulled more than 30,000 votes, and Shays had less than 8,000.
Candidate Barack Obama helped account for the huge turnout in Bridgeport, and he is returning to the city as president on the Saturday before the election to help Himes. Some insiders say that it is a sign of Democratic weakness that Obama is coming to a blue state and a Democratic city in the final days before the election when - in a strong Democratic year like 2008 - he would have been spending much more of his time fighting for seats in battleground states like Ohio and Florida.
Before the Himes victory in 2008, the seat was held by Republicans for more than 40 years, including 21 by Shays and 17 by Stewart McKinney. Before McKinney, the seat was held by an up-and-coming lawmaker named Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
The endorsement was released online Thursday night in advance of being printed in Friday's newspaper.