|
 |
Rowland wins re-election in Connecticut
(AllPolitics, November 3) -- A robust economy in Connecticut gave Gov. John G. Rowland a second term in office Tuesday. It's the first time a GOP governor has won re-election here in half a century.
The nation's youngest governor used the last four years to cut taxes, mail out
income tax rebates and embrace spending programs once the purview of Democrats.
The booming economy, including a bullish stock market, permitted Rowland to spend liberally and still maintain budget surpluses that allowed him to cut taxes.
Rowland also had no strong, right-wing element in the state GOP to which he was beholden. Two years ago, he used a slim GOP majority in the state Senate to quash a vote on the minimum wage. This year, he signed a minimum wage increase into law, saying the economy could now support it.
His challenger, eight-term Democratic congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, pushed issues that failed to resonate with voters, such as the need to audit state agencies. With unemployment hitting record lows, businesses moving to the state and thousands of welfare recipients working, voters seemed unmoved by her campaign mantra of "we can do better."
Kennelly tried to paint Rowland as a political chameleon who moderated his policies as the election approached. She cited Rowland's one-time proposals to lower education budgets and reduce fines against polluters, contrasting them against his later support for huge education spending programs and an open-space preservation plan that wowed even his environmentalist critics.
Kennelly is the daughter of John Bailey, the state's powerful Democratic leader and the Democratic National Committee's chairman during the early 1960s. First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton campaigned for Kennelly.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
OVERVIEW:
SENATE RACES:
HOUSE RACES:
GOVERNORS' RACES:
BALLOT RACES:
|
