Statewide Primaries are Upon Us; Candidates Doing Last-minute Canvassing, Calling
As Tuesday, August 12 approaches and the voting machines are rolled out for primary balloting, all eyes are on who among the Republicans will face Democratic Governor Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman in November. While Greenwich businessman Tom Foley has the party’s endorsement and is the presumed frontrunner, his opponent, State Senator John P. McKinney of Fairfield and his running mate for Lt. Governor, former U.S. Comptroller David M. Walker, have snagged editorial endorsements from two major dailies in the past couple of weeks –The Hartford Courant and The New London Day. Whether this is a bellwether remains to be seen, but everyone seems to agree on one thing: turnout will be key to victory, particularly for the underdogs. In the 2010 statewide primary, a total of 26.65-percent of all registered Democrat and Republican voters turned out to cast their ballots—25-percent of all registered Democrats and 30-percent of registered Republicans.
In addition to the Governor and Lt. Governor primaries, there is a Republican primary for State Comptroller, and primaries, both Democrat and Republican, for various state House of Representative and State Senate districts as well as some more localized contests for registrars and probate judges. (Note: You can download the 2014 Primaries list here).
And finally, check back with Capitol Beat next week as we report on the outcome of the primary races and how they could affect the business of government in Hartford.
Healthcare Exchange Eager to Tout Drop in Uninsured
Access Health CT, which operates the CT healthcare exchange, released polling data Wednesday suggesting that the number of uninsured state residents has decreased more than 50 percent, since the state began enrolling people under the Affordable Care Act.
The poll, conducted in July, surveyed 2,564 Access Health CT enrollees and found that 1,367–or about 53 percent–did not have health insurance prior to signing up for a plan on the exchange. About 46 percent, or 1,176, said they were insured prior to signing up for a plan.
